


Untitled Coppernauts Hogwarts AU

by allislaughter



Category: The LEGO Movie (2014)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, POV Third Person, Past Tense, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:35:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27288775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allislaughter/pseuds/allislaughter
Summary: It's the summer before Dan Copper's first year at Hogwarts, and a weird kid in a blue helmet riding a broom from the 80s crashes into him...See Author's Notes at beginning for fic status information.
Relationships: Benny/Bad Cop | Good Cop (The LEGO Movie)
Kudos: 7





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is yet another of my unfinished WIPs that I never posted that I'm posting now in 2020. This one for sure will remain forever unfinished as I'm not a fan of Harry Potter anymore and don't want to write within that universe, but I still wanted to share what I wrote. As with the other fics, I'll leave another author's note when we reach all that I have written for it so anyone following along will know not to expect more after that.
> 
> The chapters for this fic were written in 2014, and so they are not representative of my current writing style/quality and certainly do not represent my current interests vis a vis Harry Potter and the setting therein. They were also obviously written before LEGO Batman Movie or LEGO Movie 2 came out, so nothing established in those movies are in this fic.
> 
> Trans Rights, Happy Halloween.

He wandered farther and farther away from home, just taking in the calming atmosphere of the quiet path as he tried to settle his whirling mind. Eleven years old, and with the letter he had been waiting for resting on his dresser at home, addressed to two names just as he had been worried would happen.

_ "It'll be fine," _ he tried to insist.  _ "We'll be fine." _

_ "You're nervous about this just as much as I am, Danny," _ he thought in response.

_ "Maybe I am," _ Danny frowned.  _ "But I'm not going to admit it. We'll be going to Hogwarts, Daniel. Both of us. I guarantee you, there will be no other student weirder than someone with two people in their mind going to that school." _

_ "That'll make us unique, then," _ Daniel countered.

Danny rolled his eyes behind the aviator sunglasses his father fashioned for him sometime ago. "It'll make us targeted is what it'll make us," he muttered. "We're sure to be bullied for it."

The shades suddenly morphed into a pair of large, round glasses, and his face formed a soft, kind smile. "You worry too much," Daniel answered. "You know as well as I do that you're more likely to scare people off before they get the chance."

The glasses changed back to their previous form and Danny looked to the side, holding up his pointer finger as if to address someone invisible. "Daniel, Mummy and Daddy already said we're not allowed to get into fights or else."

"That's all on you," Daniel frowned, looking the opposite direction. "I'm less likely to fight than you are. You know that."

"Yeah, well…" Danny shoved his hands into his pocket and huffed up. "Okay, so maybe I am nervous."

Daniel smiled and nodded. He turned on his heel and began skipping back the way he came. "Well, now that you admit it… We have a lot to prepare for, you know. Since we  _ are _ going to have to deal with being the only student with two minds."

Danny slowed to a walking pace and sighed. "Think we'll get the same house or different ones?"

Daniel stopped and frowned. "I'm not sure…"

"Look out, dude!"

Danny whipped around in time to see a madman on a broom collide into him, knocking him onto his back as the broom tipped forward against the path and dropped its rider who tumbled forward until coming to a stop some distance away. Danny groaned and got up, grabbing the broom and frowning at the gold "Nimbus 1700" engraved into the handle. He glanced over at the rider, some kid dressed for winter with a bizarre blue helmet on his head.

"Aw man!" the kid whined as he took off his helmet. "It cracked!"

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked.

The kid turned around and grinned broadly before scrambling to his feet and over to him. "Hey, sorry about that, dude. Really don't know what happened. I ought to get going, so…"

Danny pulled the broom out of his reach when he tried to grab it. "Hold on, you can't just crash into me, say 'sorry' and run off."

The kid blinked, but his grin only widened. "Woah, I didn't realize there were Irish kids in this neighborhood. Cool trick with the glasses, too."

"What?" Danny asked. "But, we're…"

"Aren't you dressed a little  _ light _ for winter?" the kid continued before sweeping his eyes across the path. "Uh… Wh-What happened to the snow?"

"There's something wrong with you," Danny growled. "Seriously." 

"Oh, I know what happened!" the kid decided. "I knew the broom was fast, but I didn't realize it was fast enough to take me to another part of the world. Wow! Uh… Shoot, I suppose I should be worried if you're… If you're not…"

"I'm a wizard too," Daniel answered, smiling. "I'm Daniel Copper. The one with the sunglasses is Danny."

"Ace," the kid answered. "I'm Ben, but you can call me Benny. Can I have my broom back now?"

"Yeah," Danny frowned, handing it over. "Where're you from? You sound American."

"I am American," Benny laughed. He furrowed his brow and frowned. "Are you saying I'm not in America? How did I get so far from home?"

"You're in Ireland," Daniel answered. "Um… Why don't I take you home to my parents? Maybe they can figure out what to do."

"I… I guess I have no other option, huh?" Benny chuckled.  _ "Gosh _ it's hot. I should probably take off the jacket at least."

"Yeah, probably," Danny agreed, frowning at him. He watched him drop the helmet back onto his head, spying the crack along the bottom front, and then watched him pull off the puffy jacket revealing a form drastically skinny in comparison. He also spotted what looked like weird earmuffs hanging around his neck, though they had a cord connecting them to a device on his belt.

"There," Benny decided, doing his best to fold the jacket over his arm. "Ready!"

Daniel smiled at him and led the way back to his home. Danny glanced over his shoulder to make sure Benny was keeping up, and he darted his eyes back to the front as soon as the other kid smiled at him.

_ "Why does all the weird stuff happen to us?" _ he asked his other self.

_ "This is… unusually odd," _ Daniel agreed.  _ "He has a Nimbus 1700. And it looks brand new." _

_ "Isn't it summer in the States right now too?" _ Danny added.  _ "Unless he's from that one state. Alaska, right?" _

_"He 'supposed' he should be worried if we were muggles,"_ Daniel mused. _"He must be muggleborn."_

_ "Daddy will know what those weird earmuffs are, then," _ Danny finished.  _ "As soon as we get him home…" _

"Hey, dude?" Benny asked.

"What?" Danny snapped at him.

"Sheesh," Benny answered.  _ "Sorry. _ I just wanted to know if you think we'll be able to get my home soon. My folks are probably worried about me. They thought it was weird enough that I turned out to be a wizard, and they weren't expecting me to go to boarding school for it, so they were really looking forward to having me home for Christmas."

Daniel stopped and suddenly faced him. "Christmas?"

Benny nodded. "Yeah?"

Danny frowned and turned away again. "Nothing. We're almost there."

They said nothing more until they reached the small home and made it through the door to the other side. "Mummy! Daddy!" Daniel called. "I brought someone home!"

"In the kitchen, Daniel," Mrs. Copper called back.

Danny looked back at Benny and nodded for him to follow. They walked into the kitchen where Mr. and Mrs. Copper sat at a table, pouring over a few letters. They looked up as the two boys walked in and smiled at them.

"Who's your friend, Danny?" Mr. Copper asked.

"Benny Chu, sir," Benny answered warmly. "Dan told me you might be able to help me… I'm supposed to be in America but I ended up here by mistake…"

"Goodness, you're very far off, young man," Mrs. Copper said, standing and rushing over to him. "You poor dear. You're too young to apparate, so… Did something go wrong with a portkey?"

"A what?" Benny asked, wrinkling his nose. "Sorry, I only found out about magic things last summer."

"Mummy," Daniel whispered. When she leaned over he whispered into her ear. "He thinks it's Christmas… He may have hit his head when he fell off his broom."

"Oh!" Mrs. Copper turned towards Benny and took his jacket and broom and set them aside before having him sit in her chair. "Just sit there, Benny. Now, do you remember hitting your head at all?"

Benny nodded. "Yeah, but my helmet took the most of it…" He knocked on the side of it. "It's, uh…  _ mostly _ durable."

"Are those headphones?" Mr. Copper asked, leaning forward.

Benny looked at him and nodded eagerly. "Yeah! For my new walkman." He pulled the device from his belt and showed it to him. "Now I can listen to my favorite mixtape all the time! Isn't it rad?"

"A walkman!" Mr. Copper laughed. "I haven't seen one of those in years…"

"What?" Benny frowned at him. "But they only came out, like, four years ago or something."

Danny furrowed his brow and glanced at the broom. "Mummy? Daddy? When did Nimbus 1700s come out?"

"Wasn't it about…?" Mr. Copper started.

"1984, I believe?" Mrs. Copper finished.

"Uh… Yeah?" Benny asked. "They… They came out this year… Didn't they…?"

Mr. and Mrs. Copper shared a look and then examined the broom Benny carried in.

"This can't be possible," Mr. Copper breathed out.

Mrs. Copper shook her head. "Benny… Can you tell me everything you remember before you ended up here?"

Benny looked between the two adults in concern, but nodded and began his story. "Well, uh… I came home from school for winter break, and I was showing my little bro my new broom that a friend bought me. We live in a secluded part of our town, so I didn't have to worry about muggles seeing… So I was showing him how I learned to fly on it and… Now that I think about it, there was some weird thing that I flew straight into since I didn't see it right away. Like a part of the world that was a little warped but not enough to be noticed easily… And the next thing I knew, I lost control of my broom and crashed into Dan by mistake."

Mrs. Copper sat down across from her husband and stared straight at him. "An enchantment on the broom?"

"What enchantment could do  _ that?" _ Mr. Copper asked. "Maybe something else…"

"We'd have to check the archives," Mrs. Copper reminded. "We might want to anyway, given the time…"

"We'll have someone inspect the broom in the meantime," Mr. Copper answered. "But what do we do about the lad?"

She shook her head. "Tell him the truth."

Benny frowned. "W-What's the truth…?"

Mrs. Copper took his hand and patted it gently. "Dear, this might be a shock, but… It's the summer of 2014."

"W-What?!" Benny jumped to his feet, and his grip on her hand tightened. "But that's, like, a bajillion years in the future! How do I get from America in 1984 to Ireland in 2014?"

Daniel counted on his fingers. "It's only thirty years, Benny."

"Still!" Benny dropped back into his seat and placed his hands on either side of his helmet. "All my friends would be dead by now!"

Mr. Copper chuckled and shook his head. "No, no, they'd just be old. I was your age in 1984."

Benny stared at him until his eyes started to water and he began to cry. "I- I want to go home!"

Mrs. Copper glared at her husband and then reached over and pulled Benny into her lap to hug him. "There, there, Benny. We'll figure something out. Pa, go figure something out."

Mr. Copper nodded vigorously and got up, taking the broom with him as he left the room. Danny took his father's chair and dropped his face into his hands.

_ "I feel bad for him," _ Daniel sighed.  _ "Poor thing." _

_ "This is going to be the weirdest school year ever," _ Danny groaned.  _ "And it's our  _ **_first_ ** _ one." _

"Mummy?" Daniel asked. "Is Benny going to have to go to Hogwarts with me and Danny?"

"I don't know yet, son," Mrs. Copper answered. "We'll have to wait and find out."


	2. Chapter 2

Mr. Copper checked Benny's broom thoroughly and then had an expert check it as well, and neither of them could find any enchantments on it besides the standard ones, though the expert looked impressed with the quality of the vintage broom and mentioned how quite a few collectors would pay a high price to add that to their collection before Mr. Copper managed to send them off. He then discreetly wrote to the Ministry about the situation, sending his owl off with hopes that the Daily Prophet wouldn't catch wind of the mysterious time displaced boy.

After that, they waited. The Ministry sent some of their own experts who poked and prodded at Benny, asked him questions ranging from mundane to invasive, and finally determined that they've never heard of such a thing, in Europe or in the Americas, and that they should keep it a secret until they could find any more information about it.

"What do we do with him in the meantime?" Mrs. Copper asked before the so-called experts tried to leave.

"We can't send him back to America," one expert determined. "His family are muggles. He'll have to stay here, with you, if you don't mind, until we can figure this out. We'll write to the Hogwarts Headmaster and inform him of the situation so he can attend school while here, but aside from that, please keep it a secret about Mr. Chu's circumstance."

With that, the experts left, and they waited again until an owl came by with a Hogwarts letter, "Benjamin Chu" written aptly on the front, and Benny sighed but opened the letter and read through the pages provided.

> _ Mr. Chu, _
> 
> _ We have been informed about your situation and are pleased to accept you at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. _
> 
> _ Term begins on 1 September. _
> 
> _ Yours sincerely, _
> 
> _ Princess Unitina Kittyrina _
> 
> _ Deputy Headmistress _

Benny then read through the list of supplies, mumbling that "at least I have a wand" until he read the final line and gasped.

"I can't bring my broom?" he asked, looking up in alarm.

"Why would you want to?" Danny countered. "It's really outdated at this point."

"Dude, it's one of the few things I still have from the 80s!" Benny argued.

"Don't worry, Ben," Mr. Copper smiled at him. "Ma and I will keep it safe for you here until you're allowed to bring it to school. Why, they might even let us send it to you after you show them that you already know how to fly."

Benny sighed and then pouted. "And I was getting used to life at my old school, too… I bet you guys don't even play Quodpot."

"That American sport?" Mrs. Copper asked. "No, we play Quidditch here."

"What's Quodpot?" Daniel asked.

Benny grinned at him. "Okay, so there's eleven people on each team, and they try to pass a ball, the Quod, to each other to get it into the 'pot' on the end of the field, but the Quod explodes! So if you're holding it when it explodes, you're out of the game, and you have to try to get it to the pot before it does so that the solution in the pot will extinguish the explosion. Each time the Quod is scored or explodes, they bring a new one in. The game ends when all of the players on one team have left the pitch."

"Really?" Danny asked, frowning. "Quidditch sounds much better."

"Then why don't  _ you _ tell me what Quidditch is?" Benny countered.

"Why don't we show you?" Mr. Copper offered. "We have the final match of this year's World Cup recorded- I set up a muggle-like television to watch it this year."

"You boys do that, while I make dinner," Mrs. Copper told them. "And tomorrow we'll get up bright and early and go to Diagon Alley to buy your supplies. Benny, dear, we'll pay for yours, don't worry."

"Thank you, Mrs. Copper," Benny smiled at her before following Danny and Mr. Copper to watch the game.

The next day, as promised, Mr. and Mrs. Copper took the two boys out to Diagon Alley, after explaining the Floo system to Benny, and thankfully they made it there without incident. Benny didn't quite react in wonder, and he mumbled about having to go school supply shopping again so soon and complained under his breath about the fact he had to be fitted for robes again, and all of the other things he had to do "again."

Danny scowled, wanting to complain about his attitude, but held his tongue at Daniel's reminder that they'd do the same if they had to do all of this a second time during Christmas break. They hardly noticed Benny's demeanor brightening drastically as they made their way towards the last stop on their trip.

"Do you still have to get a wand, Dan?" Benny asked, grinning.

"Yeah?" Danny frowned at him. "So what?"

"Can I watch?" he bounced on his heels. "It was so fun getting mine, I want to see what yours does."

"You know, I don't think I've even seen your wand," Daniel commented.

"I have it, don't worry," Benny nodded. "Wouldn't part with it for the life of me."

Daniel looked up at his parents. Mrs. Copper rested her hand on his shoulder and smiled warmly.

"What are you waiting for, son?" she asked, handing him a small handful of galleons. "Take your friend and go on in. Pa and I have some errands to do while here."

"I wanted to watch," Mr. Copper frowned, but he shut his mouth at his wife's expression and nodded. "Go on in, son. Just wait outside for us if we're not back by the time you're done."

"Okay, Mummy, Daddy," he nodded. Danny glanced at Benny and then sighed and pushed his way into the aging store, Benny practically skipping at his heels. A bell chimed as the door opened, and Danny immediately felt his skin prickle and glanced around, on guard, but Benny radiated an excited warmth that Daniel smiled at as it filled him as well, the sudden realization that he'd be getting his first wand spilling into his mind.

"Good afternoon."

The sudden voice caused both boys to jump, and they turned their attention to the man behind the counter who smiled at them despite their stares.

"Buying your first wands, I see," the man chuckled. "Well, let's not waste time. Which of you is first?"

"I already have my wand, sir," Benny beamed. "I got it while I was still in America."

"Oh, I see," the man nodded. "Would you mind if I had a look? As for you, young man…? Your name?"

"Daniel Copper," he answered, eyeing Benny's movements as the other boy fished a black wand from his pocket and brought it to the counter. He took a few steps forward as well, and then smiled at the man again.

"Well, Mr. Copper, which is your wand hand?" the man asked as he took out a tape measure.

"Both," Daniel answered.

The man lifted his brow, but smiled at him and nodded. "Curious, but not impossible. Very well. Hold out your arms then, if you please."

The tape measure began worming around Daniel while Benny watched in delight. Meanwhile, the man picked up Benny's wand and began to inspect it.

"Ebony, nine and a fourth inches… Rather stiff…" He looked into the end of it, as if he could see through it. "Why, isn't that an odd choice for a wand core… Sliver of meteorite?"

"Yes, sir," Benny nodded.

"I've known one wandmaker to create wands using such cores…" the man continued, looking down at Benny. "In America, like you said. He went out of business just before the Second Wizarding War."

"Uh…" Benny glanced at Daniel for help, but the other boy was busy trying to stay still as the tape measure went on measuring his earlobes.

"That's enough," the man called, and the tape measure shot back to a drawer in his desk. He handed the wand back to Benny. "There were very few wands he made with meteorite, few enough that even I don't know their temperament or traits. You are sure to be just as mysterious as that, and I look forward to seeing what you unravel, Mister…"

"Chu," he answered. "Benjamin Chu."

The man nodded and then turned towards the shelves upon shelves of narrow boxes. "Now, Mr. Copper, it's your turn to find your wand. Ah, let's try this one…" He brought the box back to him and lifted its contents from it. "Cypress and unicorn hair, nine inches, springy. Give it a try."

Daniel nodded and took the wand, and at first he felt a strange warmth and produced some blue sparks as he waved it. Danny looked down at it and raised his brow, and the moment he did, a vase on a nearby shelf exploded.

"Dude!" Benny called out, grinning. "That was radical!"

"Curious," the man said, taking the wand away and setting it back in the box. "Curious, curious. It should not have caused such a reaction… Mr. Copper, how many of there are you…?"

Danny looked up and cleared his throat. "Two of us, sir. I'm Danny."

"Ah, yes, I see…" the man turned back to the shelves. "I see, I see…" He returned with another box and took out the wand inside. "Aspen and dragon heartstring, eleven inches, inflexible. Give it a go, Danny Copper."

Danny frowned and took the wand, and felt the same warmth as his brother, but with red sparks emitting.

"And young Daniel, you try," the man said.

Daniel looked down at the wand and hardly moved it before a window shattered.

"Oh my gosh," Benny giggled. "I knew something like this would happen with you. I just knew it."

"Very curious indeed," the man agreed as he took the wand back. "We can't have you a wand that chooses one of you and is repulsed by the other. We need one that will mesh with either of you… I may have just the one, but it is a stretch… One I've been saving for a special witch or wizard and hopefully one you will be able to handle."

He left once more, heading to the very back of the store. While he was gone, Danny turned towards Benny, scowling, and pulled him forward by the collar.

"What do you  _ mean _ you know something like this would happen?" he demanded.

"Relax, man," Benny frowned at him, pulling his hands off his clothes. "Like, dude, that isn't normal. I went wand shopping with my best friend and so I saw it twice. If a wand doesn't like you, it just doesn't do anything. It doesn't just break stuff like that. But there's two of you, so I figured something cool would happen. It was cool enough that half of you got the right wand on the first try, y'know."

Daniel furrowed his brow. "How many did you go through, Benny?"

"Tons," he moaned. "Practically the whole store. My friend got his after a few tries."

The man returned soon after, with a box that he blew across the top of to expel the layer of dust upon it. He looked at the wand and smiled at it before handing it over to Daniel. "Here, try this one, and let's hope for the best."

They both felt the warmth that time, even with only one of them out, and the sparks flew right away, in both red and blue, and it stayed even as Danny switched the hand holding the wand.

The man nodded and leaned over the counter to motion to the wand. "Hawthorn, ten inches, nice and supple. The core of this one, however, makes it unlike any other wand. This one has a dual core, of dragon heartstring  _ and _ unicorn hair, and is perfect for someone with a dual nature. This is the first time I matched a wand like this to a wizard… Just like Mr. Chu, there are sure to be mysteries for you to unravel in the future, Mr. Copper."

They paid seven galleons and followed Benny out the door where Mr. and Mrs. Copper were already waiting for them.


	3. Chapter 3

The rest of the summer flew by quickly, and Danny actually felt relieved when the day came for them to board the Hogwarts Express. Daniel was significantly less enthused and shared a long hug with his parents before the time came for them to finally board the train, Benny still walking behind him like a weird, helmet-wearing shadow.

"Where do you want to sit?" Benny asked him.

"You know what?" Danny stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. "No. I'm tired of putting up with you. It's not  _ my _ fault you're here, so  _ I _ shouldn't be the one having to take care of you."

Benny frowned at him. "Dude, harsh! Your parents said…"

Danny shook his head. "I know what they said. 'Dan, make sure to keep an eye on your friend.' Well, you're  _ not _ my friend, so I don't have to keep an eye on you."

"Danny, c'mon!" Benny argued. "I have no idea what I'm doing here! I'm not supposed to tell anyone about me, and you're the only one who knows, so what am I supposed to do if—"

"I don't care." Danny stopped in front of the first empty compartment and pointed into it. "You sit there. I'm going somewhere else."

Benny furrowed his brow. "Harsh, dude. Why're you trippin'? Just chill out, will ya?"

"I don't even know what that means!" Danny growled before turning away and storming off.

_ "Danny, what are you doing?" _ Daniel demanded.  _ "You're not being very nice." _

_ "I didn't hear you saying anything earlier," _ Danny countered.

_ "You were yelling," _ Daniel sighed.  _ "You never listen to me when you're yelling like that. Really, Danny, why do I keep having to point out how we'd feel in his position?" _

Danny stopped and stared at the ground.

_ "He doesn't even know  _ **_how_ ** _ he got here," _ Daniel continued. _ "He lost his family and friends all at once, so it's not like he has anyone else to help him adjust to life. On top of that, he's being sent to a completely different school  _ **_and_ ** _ he's still a muggleborn so he doesn't know everything. Why, even the Boy Who Lived was still just a child when he started school, if he even knows about him at all. What if someone brings that up? You know Mr. Potter's first son is starting school this year as well… He doesn't know anything, it seems." _

Danny groaned and shook his head. "Fine, I'll go apologize," he muttered.

"Wow, is that a 1980s style space helmet?"

He looked up in alarm and turned to see a group of four older students looking into Benny's compartment.

"Sure is!" Benny answered. "You know about the muggle space program?"

"Do we ever!"

The four piled in and Danny hurried to follow until something caught onto the back of his collar, choking and effectively stopping him.

"Don't run on the train," a prefect scolded him. "You're a first-year, so I'll let you off easy, but if I catch you again…"

"Sorry ma'am," Danny mumbled.

"Wherever you need to go, you can walk to it," she continued. "So, walk."

"Yes ma'am." He waited for her to let go and then began to walk. He finally made it to Benny's compartment and slid open the door to find the older students all sitting around Benny, talking about what sounded like astronomy.

"Really?" Benny giggled. "They landed rovers on Mars? That's so boss!"

"You're  _ way _ behind kid," one of the boys laughed. "You make it sound like you haven't heard about Pluto yet either."

"What about Pluto?" Benny frowned.

"They reclassified it," the other boy answered, draping an arm over the seat behind the first boy. "It's a dwarf planet now?"

"What?" Benny sat up in alarm. "Why?"

"Relax kid," one of the girls laughed, ruffling his hair. "They just found a huge amount of other space objects more like Pluto than Pluto's like the other planets, so they redefined what a planet is and that excluded Pluto. It was either that or make it that the solar system waaay more planets than we thought."

The other girl nodded. "If you really are behind on space news, we'd be delighted to fill you in. Kenny's family even sends a monthly space magazine to keep us filled in while at school."

Benny grinned at her. "Please! That'd be ace!"

Daniel cleared his throat then, finally gaining the five's attention. "Um… Hello…"

Benny frowned at him. "Hi. I thought you didn't want to hang out with me anymore."

"That was mean of me to say," Daniel smiled in apology. "I shouldn't have acted like that."

Benny crossed his arms and looked off to the side. "It'd be nicer if… You know…"

Daniel sighed and nodded. "I know… May I join you?"

The older students looked down at Benny who gave a small nod, enough for the two boys to scoot over to give Daniel a place to sit.

"So, we didn't catch your name," one of the boys pointed out.

"We didn't give ours either," the other reminded.

"I'm Jennifer Fellow," stated one of the girls. "I'm a fourth year student. This is Penelope Mack, a third year. And that's Leonard Wright and Kenneth Head, also third years. We're all in Ravenclaw."

"No way!" Benny laughed. "I'm Benjamin Chu!"

"Yes!" Penny cheered, pumping her first. "Another 'Enny,  _ and _ a space fan at that!"

"It'd be even better if you get into Ravenclaw like us," Kenny grinned.

Lenny poked Daniel in the side of the head. "What about you? Please say your name is Dennis."

He smiled sheepishly and shook his head. "Sorry, I'm Daniel Copper."

"Darnit," Kenny mumbled. "Well, at least Danny is close…"

Daniel shook his head. "No, Daniel. You have to call me Daniel."

Penny frowned. "Aw, that's no fun…"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "If he wants to be called Daniel, then call him how he wants. Don't be rude."

"Speaking of rude," Kenny said, glancing at Benny. "That accent of yours…"

"You're not from around here, are you?" Lenny finished.

Benny grinned. "Nah, man, I'm from America. But I'm going to Hogwarts this year."

"Why?" Kenny asked.

Benny shrugged. "So, what's Ravenclaw?"

"One of the four houses students are sorted into," Daniel answered. "Mummy and Daddy told me about them. There's Ravenclaw, and then there's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

Penny nodded. "Slytherin still has a bad reputation even after the Second Wizarding War, but if you're cunning and ambitious you might be put there. Hufflepuff is for loyal and patient people. Gryffindor is for brave and daring people, or as we like to say 'the kind of people who would stick their head in a lion's mouth'."

"Penny," Jenny scolded.

Smirking, Penny shrugged and continued. "And Ravenclaw is where it's at. Intelligence, creativity, and wit. You'd look good in blue and bronze, Ben."

"Of course there's more to it than that," Kenny added. "But that's for you and the Sorting Hat to discuss."

"You'll have to take your helmet off for that, Ben," Lenny winked at him.

"Aww," Benny whined.

"Where'd you even get that?" Jenny asked. "It looks like one of the actual 80s helmets, not the ones they remade more recently."

Benny glanced at Daniel who shrugged at him. "It is one of the 80s ones," he answered. "My parents got it for me last Christmas. It was a, uh… a lucky find. It really sucks that I broke it already."

"Wait, are you muggleborn?" Lenny asked, leaning forward. "I mean, that would explain things, but how haven't you heard about all the recent space stuff already if you are?"

"Well, the truth is…" Benny started.

"Benny," Daniel tried to interrupt, sitting straighter.

"I've been in cryostasis since the year 1984," Benny answered, grinning. "I was recently released into this time period to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting world by learning magic or whatever."

The older students laughed and Daniel relaxed. Benny laughed too, and laughed harder as Penny ruffled his hair again.

"You're such a cool kid!" Penny grinned. "Seriously, if you get into Ravenclaw, we'll be glad to show you the ropes."

"You too." Kenny poked Daniel. "Even if you haven't said much yet. It's always good to have more on our side. That Potter kid's bound to get into Gryffindor and bring a whole lot of people with him."

Benny frowned. "Wait, Potter…?"

Daniel sat straight again. "Yes, Harry Potter's son. But, you don't know who Harry Potter is, do you Benny? Being muggleborn…?"

Benny nodded. "Right. That is a thing I am unaware of. Totally clueless. I know absolutely nothing about magic and whatever besides what Dan's family told me so far."

"And you didn't tell him about Harry Potter?" Lenny frowned at Daniel. "Jen, think we have enough time for a brief explanation?"

Jenny nodded. "Plenty. We should be able to finish just before we get to the school if we start now."

"I get the feeling this isn't as 'brief' as you're implying," Benny sighed. "But go ahead and tell me."

Daniel let the others go into the tale of young Harry Potter and his exploits while in school and after the Second Wizarding War. He tucked into the corner of his seat and relaxed, only paying enough attention to make sure Benny didn't reveal himself while using the rest of his mind to talk to his other self.

_ "I can't stay out forever," _ Daniel thought.  _ "They'll find out eventually. You might as well come out and apologize." _

_ "Not right now," _ Danny answered.  _ "We don't know how they'll take it yet." _

_ "The longer you take to apologize, the more insincere it'll seem," _ Daniel sighed.  _ "But fine. I should be able to handle the rest of the trip on my own, but you will really need to come out at some point." _

_ "If you're getting tired, we can find somewhere empty and let me take over for a little while," _ Danny offered.

Daniel closed his eyes.  _ "No, that's fine, I think I rather sleep… Benny has things covered, right?" _

_ "Daniel…" _ Danny yawned.  _ "Don't do that. You're making me tired too." _

_ "Sorry," _ Daniel answered.  _ "Not sorry. I think I'll sleep." _

_ "Take the glasses off first," _ Danny insisted.  _ "You know we change faces while we sleep. They'll at least think we're dreaming if the glasses are off." _

Daniel pulled his glasses into his hand and held onto them loosely as he let himself fall asleep. Danny woke up sometime later to someone shaking his shoulder, and he looked up at the blurry blue-encased face staring at him. "Wha…?" he asked.

"I said, you have to change into your robes now, dude," Benny told him. "We're going to be there soon, they said. Man, you must have been really tired."

Danny nodded and slipped his shades back on before looking up and noticing Kenny and Lenny smirking at him. He froze and glanced at Benny back to them and then growled "Not a word."

Kenny drew his fingers over his lips and Lenny flashed a thumbs up.

"Guessing  _ you're _ Danny?" Lenny asked.

"Yeah," Danny grunted.

Kenny laughed. "It's okay, don't worry. Just get your robes on, Dan. The girls still need to change after us."

Before they knew it, the train came to a stop and all of the students were filing out of the carriages to the platform outside. Daniel looked around in nervous excitement while Benny chattered with his new friend until the four older students left, just as a large man called to the student.

"First years this way, first years," he called, his voice thick and harsh like a sailor. Benny took Daniel by the hand and led him over and as they approached they could hear the soft ticking of gears underneath the man's robes. "First years."

"Wow!" Benny stared in amazement at the large man. "Are you a pirate?"

Danny frowned at him. "Ben, just because he has an eyepatch…"

"Aye!" the man answered. "The name be Captain Metalbeard, for me metal beard." He knocked against the metal at his chin with a dull clang. "I be the Keeper of Keys and Grounds here at the school. But we can stave off the chit-chat for later. First years, this way!"

Soon, all of the first years followed after Metalbeard until he pointed ahead. "Look over yonder," Metalbeard called to the students. "There she be, Hogwarts in all her glory."

The students all stared in awe at the castle, resting upon a mountain side on the other side of a dark lake. Metalbeard ordered them all into boats, before getting into one himself. Benny made sure to sit close to Metalbeard, and Danny sat beside him.

"Benny, about earlier…" he mumbled as they shoved off across the lake.

Benny shook his head. "Don't worry about it, dude. I understand. I mean, you didn't ask for this."

"Neither did you," Danny replied.

"Exactly," Benny answered. "So don't be a jerk like that again."

Danny frowned and looked away, ignoring Daniel's laughter in the back of his head.  _ "Traitor," _ he thought.

_ "You deserve it," _ Daniel answered.

"So what be yer names?" Metalbeard asked the two of them.

"I'm Benjamin Chu," Benny grinned. "This is Dan Copper."

"Nice to meet you," Daniel nodded.

Metalbeard squinted at Daniel. "Weren't ye wearin' different glasses earlier?"

Daniel lost his smile and nodded again. "Yes. That was Danny."

"Hmm." Metalbeard faced front again. "Well, we get all sorts here, so that be relatively normal. Would have been nice of ol' Vitruvius to tell us about ye ahead of time instead of givin' a fake prophecy about ye."

"What are you talking about?" Danny frowned.

"The headmaster," Metalbeard answered. "Vitruvius fancies himself a seer and prophesies nonsense. He told the staff about 'the copper boy from the emerald isle, one will frown and one will smile' or what have ye."

Benny laughed and wrapped an arm over Danny's shoulder. "That fits you perfectly."

Danny pushed Benny off of him. "Stop."

"Ye really be from Ireland?" Metalbeard asked him.

Daniel nodded. "Yes, I am."

Metalbeard smiled. "That be my homeland too. And where you be from, Benjy?"

"America," Benny grinned. "What'll it be like going to school here?"

"Ye'll get a better education than in yer schools back home, I'd say," Metalbeard nodded. "Now, prepare yerselves. The Sorting Ceremony will start soon."


	4. Chapter 4

"I just realized," Benny muttered as the first years lined up in the hallway, waiting for further instructions. "If we don't get into the same house, we'll be separated…"

Daniel frowned, looking around at the crowd of students standing in front of them. "Do you think you'll be able to handle yourself if I'm not there?" he whispered.

"I mean, I can  _ try," _ Benny sighed. "But what about you? What if the thing with the wand happens again?"

Danny frowned and shook his head. "That's stupid. Why would they even let us have two different houses?"

Benny rolled his eyes. "Well tell me, what house do you each think you'll get into?"

"Gryffindor," Danny said right away. Daniel flinched and mumbled. "I was going to say Hufflepuff." Danny pulled a disgusted look. "There's no way I'm getting into Hufflepuff."

Benny smirked at him. "Exactly."

The crowd became silent as a young woman in pastel pink robes stepped before them, grinning widely. They all stared at the cat ears on her head and the unicorn horn on her forehead, and when she spoke, it sounded so happy that they could all imagine flowers and sparkles and other cute things emitting off of her.

"I'm the Deputy Headmistress, Princess Unitina Kittyrina," she greeted. "Or as you can call me, Professor Unikitty. I welcome you to Hogwarts!"

They followed her through the entrance hall and to a small chamber where she stopped and addressed them again. "The start-of-term banquet will begin soon, but before you can sit, you'll be sorted into your houses for your time at this school. Think of your houses as each of your families while here. You'll have classes with your house, sleep in the house dormitory, and spend your free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, and each of them has a long history and have produced some of the best witches and wizards ever. While you're here, you can earn points for any good things you do-" The students could swear they could see color stars around her head as she bounced excitedly. "-and you'll lose points if you do anything bad. So  _ don't _ do anything bad." Her eyes turned sharp and her entire being red for merely a second before she smiled warmly again as if that never happened. "The house with the most points at the end of the year will win the house cup! So do your best and have fun! I'll be back in a jiffy, so wait here quietly until we're ready to bring you in."

She walked through the doors, but before the students had a chance to begin talking to each other, she poked her head back out. "Oh, and you'll be sorted in front of the entire school, so make sure to look your best! And you, with the helmet, you'll need to take that off for now, okay, be right back!"

"Aw man," Benny muttered. The students around him watched as he pulled off his helmet, revealing patches of hair that stood up wildly. He did his best to flatten it and the other students quickly lost interest and began murmuring quietly to each other.

Daniel chuckled and helped Benny with his hair. "There… That's better than nothing, right?"

"I guess," Benny mumbled, holding the helmet tight against his chest. "What exactly was…?" He motioned the way Unikitty left.

"I have no clue," Danny frowned. "She'll probably tell us during the year if she wants us knowing what she is."

Benny nodded. "Right…"

Unikitty returned shortly after and had them file into the next room. Students sat at four long tables, one for each house, while at a table in front of them, the staff sat in wait. Benny whispered a low "wow" and Danny looked up to see the ceiling full of stars like the night sky outside. He glanced down again and elbowed Benny to grab his attention to the stool Unikitty set out and the old and dirty hat she placed upon it.

The hat split apart, almost like a mouth, and everyone listened as the hat started a song. Once the hat finished, Unikitty held up a roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, come on up, put on the hat and sit down, and then go to your table after you're sorted," she told them before reading from the list of names.

The list went in alphabetical order by surname, so it didn't take much time before Unikitty called out "Chu, Benjamin".

"Wish me luck," Benny mumbled to Daniel.

"Good luck," Daniel mumbled back as Benny walked up to the stool. Danny frowned as he noticed one of the teachers, in bright orange robes, lean forward as Benny walked up. The teacher shook his head and relaxed again, and Danny then trained his eyes on Benny, helmet in his lap and Sorting Hat on his head.

Benny's eyes darted to the Ravenclaw table, and not long after, the hat called out "RAVENCLAW" and Benny happily went on his way to his friends from the train who cheered the loudest of the entire table.

Not long after that, Unikitty called out "Copper, Daniel", and Daniel gulped and went to take his turn.

"My, my, isn't this fascinating," the hat mumbled inside their mind, and Daniel knew Danny was instantly on guard at his voice. "Two minds in one… But how to sort you…"

_ "They called my name," _ Daniel answered.  _ "It might be best to sort me." _

_ "If you put us in Hufflepuff," _ Danny growled.

"Ah, but wouldn't Hufflepuff be a better fit for young Daniel?" the hat sounded like he was smirking.

Daniel looked over at the spot of blue and the eyes within it watching him eagerly.  _ "I need to keep an eye on him…" _ he remembered, frowning.

"Is that so?" the hat asked. "In that case RAVENCLAW."

The Ravenclaw table burst into applause again and Benny flashed him a thumbs up as he stood. Before Daniel could walk to the table, he heard Unikitty call out the next name.

"Copper, Danny."

Danny stopped in his tracks, and suddenly the entire Great Hall murmured under the breathes, save for Benny and his space friends who all just shared a look. Danny turned around to see the teachers all staring at him too, and Unikitty smiled and motioned for him to sit down again. Danny scowled and did so, and soon the hat was in his mind again.

"Back so soon?" the hat laughed.

_ "Shut up," _ Danny growled.

"I know just the place for you," the hat answered. "RAVENCLAW."

The table applauded again, somehow managing to sound confused and unsure as Daniel set the hat back on the stole and hurried over next to Benny.

"Dude, that was legit tense," Benny whispered. "I was really worried about you for a moment."

"We got the same house," Danny mumbled back. "But now everyone knows about me. I still am worried."

"Chill, it'll be fine," Benny assured him.

The rest of the sorting went well, save for the deafening roars from the Gryffindor table when that Potter kid was sorted into their house, not that anyone who knew anything about the Potter family expected anything else. Once the last student was sorted, the headmaster stood up, staring blankly over the students with his odd, glowing eyes.

"Alright, we'll get this banquet going after I say a few words," Vitruvius announced. "See that girl, watch that scene, diggin' the dancing queen. Okay, have a good year at Hogwarts everyone." 

"Was that an ABBA song?" Benny asked before looking at the spread of food in front of them and pulling some onto his plate.

"What's ABBA?" Kenny asked. "By the way, Ben, you don't look too phased by anything here despite being a muggleborn."

Lenny nodded. "Yeah, you can always tell which first years are by looking to see whose mouths drop open once the food appears."

Benny shrugged and shoved a piece of potato into his mouth. "I'm just really hungry."

"Don't talk with your mouth full," Danny scolded him before digging into his own meal.

After the feast ended and Vitruvius recited a few important rules and announcements, and then the students were asked to sing the school song. The resulting cacophony of each student picking their own to sing to would have been more entertaining if Daniel hadn't insisted Danny sing while Benny belted out poorly right next to him in what he could only assume was an 80s song or something like that.

After everything had been settled, the prefects gathered the first years to show them the way to the dorms. The Ravenclaw prefect led them up the stairs of a tower until they stopped in front of what seemed to be an eagle doorknocker that the prefect used. The eagle shifted and began to speak.

"Soft as silk, firm as stone, swift as wind, carry me home," it spouted out.

The prefect turned to the students and smiled. "As you can see, to get into our dorm you must answer the riddle the doorknocker provides. Often you may have to team up with others to figure out the answer, so don't be ashamed to work together to figure out the answer. Does anyone have any ideas what the answer to this riddle is?"

"Are you asking because you want us to test out figuring it out or because you don't know yourself?" Danny asked, lifting his hand as he spoke.

The prefect frowned at him. "Both. Now, anyone?"

"Water," Benny sighed.

The door opened and everyone stared at Benny. He glanced around at them and shrugged.

"Water is smooth, ice is hard, oceans have fast currents that you can sail on?" he offered.

The prefect nodded. "Yes, good… Now, everyone in, lest you be stuck with another riddle."

They all filed in and the prefect explained the final details of everything they needed to know before sending them off to bed.

Daniel sat in the bed next to Benny's and glanced around at all the other first years who were still talking excitedly about the upcoming school year and what they've experienced so far or learned before coming to the school. Danny sighed and frowned at Benny.

"Do you think it was a mistake?" he asked. "Me and Daniel being in Ravenclaw?"

"Seriously, man?" Benny asked him. "I hardly know you. How am I supposed to say anything on that?"

Daniel frowned. "We're just worried. What if we don't fit in? We're not particularly… Well we don't care about intelligence as much as others."

Benny sat on his own bed and faced him. "Well, why did the Sorting Hat place you here, then?"

"I asked so I could keep an eye on you," Daniel sorted. Danny frowned. "And then the stupid hat just went and put me here too."

Benny shook his head. "That's stupid. There has to be some  _ actual _ reason the hat put you both here. Especially since I was sure that you'd get two different houses. Maybe that's just something you have to figure out while you're here, why Ravenclaw is the best place for you to be in."

Daniel smiled at him. "Maybe… But still... "

Benny shook his head. "Nah man, relax. It'll be fine, probably. C'mon, we should sleep. Classes in the morning, y'know? Night, Dan."

Danny grumbled but then nodded. "Alright. G'night, Benny."


	5. Chapter 5

Sometime towards the end of the week, the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years filed out into the courtyard where Madam Wyldstyle waited along with a series of brooms on either side of her. There had been conversation from the start about "is that really her name?" and some of the muggleborns asked "is she a DJ?" and everyone was torn on how they felt about her dyed hair and matching designs on her robes. No one bothered to ask her, however, since all of the older students mentioned how she changed her name every year and never revealed her real one.

"Alright, everyone, stand by a broom," Madam Wyldstyle told them as they approached. Once everyone had done so, she continued. "Hold your hand over the broom and call out 'Up'."

Benny's shot straight into his hand, one of the few around them who did. Daniel's turned over, but shot up after Danny tried. Once everyone managed to get their brooms, Madam Wyldstyle showed them how to mount and hold onto their broom before going around and correcting their grips. 

"Like this," she said when she was right in front of him, helping him move his hands into place. She then moved over to Benny and hummed. "Well, congratulations on being the only one so far to get it right on the first try."

Benny grinned. "I don't really think I need flying lessons, ma'am. I already know how to fly a broom."

Danny let out a derisive laugh before he could stop himself, and Daniel smiled in apology when Benny glared.

Wyldstyle rolled her eyes. "Is that so? What's your name?"

"Benjamin Chu," he answered.

"And you're the American student, right?" she asked. "Everyone knows you by that helmet you're wearing…"

Benny sighed. "Yeah, I'm the American student. Gosh, is that what everyone's going to know me for around here?"

"I don't know how they teach schools in America, but I'm not letting you skip this class on word alone," she continued. "If you want to skip, you need to prove you know how to fly already."

He nodded. "Fair enough. What do I need to do?"

"Sit out of today's lesson," Madam Wyldstyle answered. "This is your last class for today, so after, everyone in the class will see how well you perform." She smiled and leaned into his face. "So if you fail, everyone will be able to see and laugh at you."

Benny forced a grin and nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

The rest of the lesson went without any further incident, and after, Wyldstyle led them to a slope where she had each of them sit, except for Benny who she called over to discuss something in private. Someone elbowed Danny in the side and he frowned at them.

"What?" he demanded.

"Your boyfriend's going to crash and kill himself," the boy answered.

"He's not my boyfriend," Danny answered. Daniel frowned and watched him. "Though the last time I saw him try to fly, he  _ did _ crash. Into me."

"Are you saying he'll crash into us?" a nearby girl asked.

Suddenly everyone murmured in terror. They all whipped their heads to Benny when they saw him shoot into the sky before holding stationary. Wyldstyle held up her wand and began producing rings in the air that Benny expertly maneuvered through, even doing flips as the rings appeared behind him.

"Not bad…" they could hear her comment. "Ready for phase two?" she called

Benny pulled his broom to a stop. "Wait, what's phase two?"

"Dodgeball!" She sent up bright orbs of fire, and Benny gasped and did his best to avoid them, even as they chased after him. "Don't forget to go through the rings!" she laughed, sending more up.

A few of the students swore that they could hear Benny screaming something rapidly as he continued to do as told, but none of them were quite sure what over Wyldstyle's almost evil laughter.

"What's going on?"

The students looked up to see the stony face of Professor Wayne, nicknamed Batman by the students, and rumored to be the most serious person in the school. Danny furrowed his brow and answered, hoping he'd stop Madam Wyldstyle where the students couldn't.

Batman cracked a smile and dropped down next to them. "Awesome. And we get front row seats."

Danny pulled a disgusted look and went back to watching Benny as he continued screaming something as fireballs did their best to burn him, and the golden rings disappeared each time Benny managed to fly through another one unscathed.

"Oh my gosh!" another person cried before a person in an orange robe rushed passed him up to Wyldstyle.

"Great," Batman muttered. "Here comes the wet blanket."

Daniel leaned over to the boy next to him. "Excuse me, who's that?" he whispered.

"That's the new History of Magic professor," the boy answered. "Brickowski or something."

"Wyldstyle, you can't just do that to students!" Professor Brickowski insisted, his eyes darting from the woman to the boy in the air. "He's just a first year! What if he gets hurt?"

"Are you kidding?!" Wyldstyle cheered. "It's like this kid's been flying from birth! I'm putting him on the Quidditch team!"

"DOES THAT MEAN I CAN COME DOWN NOW?" Benny asked at the top of his lungs, clearly terrified as a fireball came much too close.

"Ready to stop being a little—?"

"Wyldstyle!" Brickowski interrupted.

"YEAH DUDE, I TOTALLY GET IT, I WON'T DISS YOU AGAIN, BUT THIS IS MAJOR BOGUS, I'M TOTALLY WIGGING OUT HERE."

Danny looked at the other students who had similar looks of confusion on their faces at whatever Benny had rattled off so quickly to the point that a majority of the words blended together.

"Oh my gosh!" Wyldstyle called out in a panic, and Daniel looked up, alarmed, to see that one of the fireballs managed to hit Benny and knocked him off the broom towards the ground.

Batman was on his feet without warning, and pulled out his wand, casting some spell that slowed Benny's fall enough that he only hit the ground with one sickening crack rather than multiple ones. Batman and Wyldstyle rushed to Benny's side while the broom careened on into the ground nearby. Brickowski went up to the students and began shooing them away.

"Alright, that's enough excitement for one day, you kids out to go back to your common rooms," Brickowski continued to ramble as he glanced between Benny and the students until most of them got the picture and quickly fled the scene. When it was only Danny left, frowning at Brickowski despite his continued rambling, the man finally quieted down and let Danny follow him over to Benny.

"Broken wrist and some minor burns," Batman told them as they walked up. "Would have been a head injury too, but the helmet seems to have covered that. Brickowski, take this kid to the infirmary."

"Yes, sir, Batman," Brickowski nodded. "Alright, come with me, uh… Mr. Chu, you said?"

Benny sniffled, holding his wrist with the opposite hand, and nodded, mumbling a sorry to Wyldstyle as he passed her by.

"Also, I'm  _ totally _ giving ten points to Ravenclaw," Batman added. "Those moves were sweet."

Benny cracked a pained smile before following after Brickowski. Danny followed behind, but turned his head slightly to hear Batman utter a "every year, Wyldstyle? We're lucky that kid knew how to fly already" that slowly faded as they walked further away.

_ "He's one to talk," _ Danny thought.  _ "He was excited to watch." _

Daniel looked up at Brickowski. "Is that really allowed?" he asked. 

Brickowski flinched and shrugged. "I really don't know," he answered like an apology. "This is my first year working here. I'm actually from America originally."

"Like me?" Benny asked before wincing again.

Brickowski nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I'm Professor Brickowski, your History of Magic professor."

Benny stared at their feet as they walked and mumbled something under his breath.

"What was that?" Brickowski asked.

"Nothing," Benny answered.

"No, really, I'd like to know." Brickowski smiled at him and chuckled. "Don't worry, not all the teachers are absolutely nuts. Even if it seems like that so far…"

Benny lifted his hands together to wipe his eyes, refusing to let go of his broken wrist. He shook his head before mumbling, barely loud enough for them to hear. "I was just wondering if you know anyone named Emmet."

Brickowski stumbled, and the two boys nearly tripped into him.

"Sir?" Danny asked.

"Nothing," the man insisted, grinning at them. "Uh… Well, not  _ nothing, _ but… Let's take care of your injuries first."

Benny frowned at him, but nodded. They hurried to the infirmary, and sometime later Benny finally came out, completely healed, in time for dinner.

"Man, I was worried I'd have to stay there forever," Benny groaned.

Danny scowled at him and grabbed onto his robes, pulling him forward. "What exactly did you think you were doing?" he demanded. "I know you've already done half a year of school ahead of the other first years, but are you really trying to show off? I thought you were a Ravenclaw. You can't actually be so  _ stupid." _

"Hey, man, step off!" Benny argued. "I just didn't want to waste time learning a thing I already know how to do! I didn't know she'd react like that or try to  _ kill me!" _

"Everyone thinks you're some  _ prodigy," _ Danny growled. "Because you're mastering spells so easily, because you can get into the common room on the first try. You can't keep doing that! People will find out!"

"Chill, will you?!" Benny pulled himself out of his grip. "It's not my fault I already know these spells or that I heard the same riddles at my old school. It's not my fault I'm stuck here!"

"That doesn't mean you need to be such a smart—"

Brickowski stepped around the corner and cleared his throat at them.

Daniel grinned nervously. "—Alec. Smart alec… Benny, we ought to get to the Great Hall for dinner."

"A-Actually…" Brickowski stepped in front of them when Daniel tried to lead them away. "Actually, I want you two to join me for dinner. In my office. I, uh… I want to ask you something."

Benny frowned. "Are we in trouble?"

"No!" Brickowski insisted. "No, no, no. Just… I'll explain when we get there. Please?"

Daniel glanced at Benny and then nodded. Brickowski grinned and led them away for a second time that day. When they made it to his office, they found three plates and a pile of food waiting for them, and Brickowski chuckled almost nervously.

"I wasn't really sure what you'd like to eat, so I just guessed…" he admitted.

"Dude, pizza and fries?" Benny asked. "That's, like, my favorite food ever."

Danny frowned. "I don't know what the round things are, but the potatoes are called chips."

Benny shook his head. "Dude, no way, chips are thin crispy things."

"Those are crisps!" Danny argued.

Brickowski shook his head. "They call them different things in the States. But sit down and help yourselves."

Benny nodded eagerly and hurried to a seat while Daniel looked apprehensively at the strange disks and watched as Benny pulled a slice of the pizza to this plate.

"I always found it weird that most wizards don't know what pizza is," Brickowski admitted. "It took forever explaining to the cooks here how to make it, so hopefully it tastes alright."

Benny bit into his slice and flashed a thumbs up before plowing through the rest of it and getting some fries. Daniel tentatively took a slice as well and bit down into before nodding appreciatively and wolfing down the rest of it when he realized how hungry he was.

After they ate for a short time, Brickowski sighed and then looked up at Benny.

"I'm Emmet."

Benny choked suddenly and dropped the rest of his pizza onto his plate. As he coughed, he reached for his pumpkin juice and gulped it down until he could breathe again. "You're Emmet…?" he asked.

Emmet nodded. "I thought you looked familiar, but I wasn't sure at first— I mean, how could it be you, right? But… Remember Apollo Avenue? And how we both got our letters the same day but didn't realize until the special messengers took us school shopping at the same time? You went through nearly the entire shop before you got your wand."

"Emmet?" Benny repeated, just as incredulous.

Emmet frowned suddenly. "You… You  _ were _ asking about an 'Emmet Brickowski' right? Gosh, I just realized how embarrassing this is if you meant someone else… Uh… Wow, sorry, I…"

"You're  _ SO OLD," _ Benny cried out, tears stinging his eyes.

"No, no, don't cry!" Emmet insisted. "Gosh, Ben, I mean… What happened? You just disappeared over Christmas break… And now you're somehow at Hogwarts as a first year?"

"Oh my gosh," Benny gasped. "Oh my gosh. How is this a thing? How are you here? Why am I here? Oh my gosh."

Danny pursed his lips and darted his eyes from Benny to Emmet. "I take it you two know each other?"

Emmet nodded. "I kind of grew up with him. You know, before the whole… Incident…"

Daniel nodded. "I think he mentioned you before, when I was getting my wand. We're not sure what happened to him, but it seems he somehow was transported almost thirty years into the future, near my home in Ireland. My parents have been looking into it."

"You idiots!" Benny cried, suddenly pushing his food out of the way to drop his head onto the table, the helmet causing a dull thunk as it made contact. "Don't you get what this means?!"

Danny frowned. "Stop that. What does what mean?"

Benny glared at him. "It means I  _ never go home! _ If Emmet never saw me again until now…! I don't go back! I'm stuck here forever and I hate it and I want to go  _ home!" _

"Benny, calm down," Emmet tried to soothe. "Everything will be fine, just calm down…!"

"NO." Benny jumped to his feet. "Everything  _ sucks. _ This isn't fair!"

"Benny!" Danny shouted, but Benny shot out the door before they could stop him.


	6. Chapter 6

_ "Benny!" the younger boy whined. "It's cold!" _

_ "That's because it's snowing!" Benny answered. "C'mon, Rocket, you said you wanted to watch me fly on my broom, right?" _

_ "But it's cold!" the boy whined again. _

_ Benny rolled his eyes and unwrapped his scarf from his neck and passed it over to his brother. "Here, Chris, put this on. I'll need it back when I go back to school, though." _

_ Chris giggled, looking significantly less cold once he had the scarf in his hands, and Benny smiled to himself at his younger brother's fondness of trying on "big boy" clothes. _

_ "Warm enough now, lil' dude?" Benny asked. _

_ "Totally!" Chris cheered. "Let's go, let's go! I want to see you fly!" _

_ "Then let's go!" Benny took Chris by his hand and they ran together to a part of town where no one would possibly see them. "Wait here, Rocket," Benny ordered, and Chris nodded and stayed put while Benny took a few paces forward. _

_ "Alright, I'll fly around the clearing a few times, and then we'll go back home, okay?" he asked. _

_ Chris nodded and watched with wide eyes as he bounced on his heels. Benny grinned and mounted his broom. He took off and circled around the clearing once, twice, but squinted his eyes as he suddenly noticed… something… something weird about the space right in front of him. He sped up, deciding to ignore it, but the next thing he knew, he lost control of his broom and was headed straight into some other kid. _

_ "Look out, dude!" he called without thinking. He crashed straight into the other boy and tumbled away from his broom, mentally groaning at the crack he heard his helmet made. His parents were going to kill him if he broke his helmet so soon…  _

_ At least he could fix it once he got back to school. _

"Reparo," he muttered, ignoring the rule he was breaking as he sat against the wall in some random corridor that he hardly noticed he had wandered into during his fit of anger. Students weren't supposed to use magic in the corridors between classes, he remembered with a scowl. So what, he decided.

He wasn't sure where he was, the few paintings in that wing all had their occupants visiting elsewhere, and as far as Benny knew, he was alone and lost and didn't care otherwise as he watched his walkman bend back into shape after he had crushed it earlier when he fell from the broom. His helmet rested beside him, still broken and he sobbed as he picked it up and clutched it to his chest. He glared at his walkman, knowing it still wouldn't work even if repaired, what with that stupid magic field around Hogwarts that prevented muggle electronics from being used. 

It was 19- It was 2014, he remembered. Maybe some students had figured out how to bypass that horrible restriction by then. What was the point of being a wizard if you couldn't listen to a walkman?

"Can you hear the drums, Fernando?"

"What?" Benny glanced up and nearly jumped at the glowy-eyed elder that seemed to have manifested out of nowhere. "Oh, uh, hi… Professor Vitruvius…"

Vitruvius stared at him, for as much as he could assume he was staring, and then spoke again. "I remember long ago, another starry night like this…"

"In the firelight, Fernando," Benny continued, setting his things on the ground and then pulling his knees under his chin. "You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar."

Vitruvius nodded. "I could hear the distant drums and sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar."

Benny rose back to his feet, smiling along with Vitruvius as the two of them somehow knew to skip to the chorus, singing with each other the best they could.

_ "There was something in the air that night _ _   
_ _ The stars were bright, Fernando _ _   
_ _ They were shining there for you and me _ _   
_ _ For liberty, Fernando _ _   
_ _ Though we never thought that we could lose _ _   
_ _ There's no regret _ __   
_ If I had to do the same again _ _   
_ __ I would, my friend, Fernando"

Benny gulped. "If I had to do the same again, I would, my friend, Fernando…"

"I take it you found out about Emmet?" Vitruvius asked. At Benny's weak nod, Vitruvius reached out to pat his shoulder. "I figured it would come as a shock to you, son. But now that you know that you can't go back, the only place to go now is forward."

He shook his head. "I was only handling everything okay because I thought I would be able to go back. I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."

"I hear Wyldstyle wants to add you to the Quidditch team," Vitruvius shrugged. "You could do that." He shook his head and sighed. "I do  _ not _ understand what is with her and putting every person whose nickname ends in 'enny' on her team."

Benny looked up in surprise. "Jenny, Penny, Kenny, and Lenny are on the Quidditch team too?"

Vitruvius nodded. "And Wyldstyle put them through similar tests like you. I really ought to tell her to stop doing that."

"Yeah…" Benny frowned. "Why- Why haven't you yet?"

"I am  _ old," _ Vitruvius frowned in return. "I forget things."

Benny smiled sheepishly and then glanced down at the walkman on the floor and the headphones lying on top of it. "Professor Vitruvius… How do you know ABBA songs?"

"Emmet brought me a 'compact disc' of their songs and what he called a 'boom box' and I decided to listen to it," Vitruvius answered. "Is that another music listening device that muggles made?" He pointed to the walkman.

He nodded. "Yeah… It's a walkman. I got it just before I showed up in this time period. So, apparently, it's actually outdated by now."

Vitruvius hummed. "Yes, I think the children now use 'm3ps' on 'ear pods' or something weird like that. There is quite a ring of students sneaking in muggle items and bewitching them to work on campus. As if they think we don't know that they do that. Though we're still not sure who keeps watching that weird movie about plastic bricks on that 'nabfilm' thing, but it really messes up the staff queues when we try to watch those muggle television programs."

"Dude, I don't know what most of those things even are," Benny frowned.

"I know," he answered. "Now, would you want me to make your 'talkman' work?"

"Walkman," Benny corrected as he bent down to pick the device up. "And, yes, please."

"In exchange, you have to let me make a copy of the songs so I may listen to them as well," Vitruvius continued. "And you can't use it during class."

Benny grinned. "Sure. Are you just going to copy the cassette tape?"

"Yes," he replied. "That's the rectangle thing in here, right? I press this button to take it out?"

"Right." Benny pressed the button and pulled out the cassette tape and held it out for Vitruvius.

The man took it and immediately made a double and then slipped the duplicate into his robes while handing the original back to Benny. He then motioned for the walkman and headphones, which Benny relinquished, and after muttering a spell, he returned them. Benny placed the cassette back in, put his headphones on, and pressed play, grinning as the first song began to play. He paused it again and quickly threw his arms around Vitruvius, whose eyes widened in surprise before he hugged the young boy in return.

"Now, you'll want to go back to your dormitory now," Vitruvius answered, motioning in the direction for him to go. "Before curfew and all."

Benny nodded. "Yes, sir. Thank you…" He bent down one more time to grab his helmet, and he slipped it over his head before smiling at the elderly man. "I mean it."

"And we'll just ignore you breaking the rules and using magic in the corridors between classes," Vitruvius chuckled, winking at him. "Off you go."

He winced but nodded. "Alright. Good night." He hurried off, slowing down to a walking pace as he passed some teachers, and then hurried again to the Ravenclaw tower, taking the stairs two at a time until he made it to the door at the top and the argument in front of him.

"What is it, the sun?" Danny growled at the door knocker.

"Lava?" Daniel suggested.

"My stomach after eating that weird pizza stuff?" Danny mumbled.

Benny walked up. "What's the riddle this time?"

"Benny!" Daniel pulled him into a hug. "I was worried about you! I thought maybe you already went into the dorm, but I can't get it to open and no one else showed up yet."

He hugged him back and sighed. "Sorry, I just had some things to think about."

"Are you…" Danny cleared his throat and let go of him. "Are you alright?"

Benny nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine. But what's the riddle?"

"What is on fire but never burns?" the doorknocker asked.

"Oh, geeze, that is a tough one," Benny answered. "I actually haven't heard that one before."

"See what I mean?" Danny sighed.

"Relax, we'll figure this out," Benny assured him. "Let's see… Riddles never are obvious, are they? Except when what you think is obvious is actually not…"

"You have an idea?" Daniel asked.

Benny shrugged. "A fire doesn't burn itself, but by nature is on fire."

The door opened and Benny pumped his fists in the air.

"Yes!" he cheered.

"That's so stupid!" Danny groaned, but he hurried in before the door decided to close on them.

"Benny!" Penny called from her armchair as soon as they walked in. "Madam Wyldstyle told us about what you did today!"

"You're a first year!" Kenny shouted while he sat on a small table across from her. "You lasted almost as long as Jenny did on her first try! How?!"

"You're  _ muggleborn!" _ Lenny added, next to Kenny on the table. "How did you already know how to fly if this was your first lesson?!"

"You want the truth?!" Benny yelled back. "American schools start at ten! I took half a year before having to move here! That's how I already know all the stuff I do, since I learned most of it already!"

"Including the riddles?" Jenny calmly asked from the chair she sat in next to Penny's.

"Ye—!" Benny lowered his voice. "Yeah. The house I was in at my school in America used similar riddles. I actually had to think about the one to get in just now since I hadn't heard that one yet."

"Well, Madam wants you on the Quidditch team now," Jenny smiled at him. "We'd love to have you, but the team captain wants to see how you perform first, under normal circumstances since Madam tends to go overboard."

"It's really weird that  _ she's _ the head of house," Danny pointed out, and plenty of other Ravenclaws sighed in agreement.

"Maaan, I don't even know if I want to play Quidditch," Benny frowned. "I just wanted to get out of taking flying lessons a second time. Hey, have I ever told you guys about the American sport, Quodpot?"

"Benny, no," Danny ordered.

"Aww," Benny sighed.

Kenny and Lenny got up and then stepped up on either side of Benny and picked him up, carrying him over to Penny and Jenny before setting him down again. They took their place at the table, and Benny sat across from them on the floor, between the girls' chairs and the table the two boys sat on.

"C'mon, Ben," Kenny teased, ruffling his hair. "You need to be on the Quidditch team with us."

"The five 'Ennys," Lenny announced. "Space pals, teammates, through thick and thin."

"Space pals?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, space pals," Lenny nodded. "I thought of it earlier. Fits us, right?"

"Speaking of, did you see how outdated the ideas about the sun the magical community has?" Penny whispered, though Daniel could still hear as he passed by. "They still think the sun is made of fire instead of being made of plasma."

"Isn't fire a plasma?" Kenny asked.

"It's not hot enough to be ionized," Benny answered. "So, it's gas, right?"

"Right," Jenny nodded. "A mixture of gases, to be more accurate."

"Just a moment," Benny said. He leaned out of the group and looked towards Danny. "Dan, where are you going?"

Daniel turned and smiled at him. "You have fun with your space pals. I'm going to start my homework. I wasn't able to earlier since I was waiting for you to come out of the infirmary, after all."

Benny frowned but nodded. "Okay… Let me know if you want help."

"I'll be fine," Danny growled before turning and continuing away.

Benny sighed and pulled out his walkman. "I know he's jealous that I'm hanging out with you guys and not him, but it'd be nice if he'd actually tell me that…"

"He's eleven," Lenny sighed. "He doesn't have the maturity of us thirteen year olds."

Jenny rolled her eyes but leaned over to look at the device. "What's that? It looks… It looks old."

Benny pouted. "It's a walkman. It plays cassette tapes."

"Oh, I know those," Penny smiled. "They were popular in the 80s, weren't they?" She gasped. "Wait, were you serious about the cryostasis thing?"

"No, of course not!" Benny answered, pulling a face. "That's just ridiculous."

"Nah, I'm kidding," Penny laughed, nudging Benny slightly. "But you really are an 80s child, aren't you? You know, except you were born in the new millennium. You're just really into retro stuff, huh?"

"Yeah." Benny forced a smile. "Retro. Totally."

"Does that even work on campus?" Lenny asked him. "I mean… Did you… You know…"

"It works," he nodded. "I'll probably use it while doing my homework or something…"

While the space pals continued their conversation, Danny worked on his homework by lying in bed on his stomach with his pillow pulled over his head and his shades digging into his nose. He scowled and then flipped over to breathe, glaring at the blue canopy above him and wondering why it couldn't have been red or even green or yellow.

_ "This is your fault we're here," _ he decided.  _ "If you hadn't decided to follow Benny… Look, he doesn't even need us. He has those  _ **_space pals_ ** _ and we have no one." _

_ "You're being overdramatic," _ Daniel answered.  _ "Weren't you the one who said that Benny isn't our friend just under a week ago?" _

_ "Shut up," _ Danny growled.  _ "You know what I mean. We'd at least have a chance of making friends in other houses. We're not smart enough for anyone else here. We're not even smart enough to  _ **_be_ ** _ here. One day we'll be locked out of the common room and we'll be stuck outside all night since everyone else will already be inside." _

Daniel sighed and took off their glasses and set them aside. He tucked himself under the covers and closed his eyes.  _ "We'll need to write to Mummy and Daddy about what Benny said. How he won't ever go home…" _

_ "He called us idiots," _ Danny thought almost too quietly for even Daniel to hear.  _ "He actually does think we're stupid." _

_ "Shush," _ Daniel yawned.  _ "You know he was just emotional. He doesn't mean it. Now, good night, Danny." _

_ "Good night," _ Danny said. Neither of them commented on how unconvinced he sounded.


	7. Chapter 7

"Dan, are you mad at me?"

Daniel looked up from his breakfast and quickly shook his head. "Of course not, Benny. Why would I be mad?"

Benny smiled almost apologetically and sat down across from him, pulling his helmet off and setting it on the table. "What about Danny? He mad at me?"

Danny frowned and mumbled a "no" before focusing on his plate again.

Benny sighed loudly and draped himself on the table. "But dude, seriously! You've been avoiding me ever since I found out about Em- Professor Brickowski. Which is it? That I also hang out with my space pals or that I accidentally called you stupid?"

"Didn't sound like an accident to me," Danny mumbled.

Benny sighed again, dramatically, and Daniel glanced around to see a few people watching them. Benny sat up and shrugged at him.

"Yeah, my bad, man," he answered. "Really, I'm sorry. You're not stupid. I was just upset."

Danny didn't say anything and instead bit into his toast.

"Dude," Benny frowned. "Are you… Are you self-conscious about that?"

Danny looked up, furrowing his brow. "What, just because I'm in Ravenclaw and everyone in my house is more intelligent than I could dream of being so I don't know why I should be in this house in the first place?" Daniel sighed and rolled his eyes. "He's self-conscious." Danny scowled. "Quiet, you traitor." Daniel shook his head. "Though we're both a little jealous that you made friends so easily and we can't…"

"Have you tried?" Benny asked. "If you're going to be avoiding me, you should at least try talking to the other students. At least  _ one _ of them should be better friends with you than I'm obviously being."

"Benny, don't say that," Daniel told him.

Benny shook his head. "But, for real, dude. If you have any problems with me, you got to tell me. I hate that whole miscommunication thing that people do. I mean, what if I do something really hurtful and you don't tell me and I think it's okay to do it again?"

"Is that why you were so blunt about calling me a jerk that one time?" Danny asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, totally. You can call me out when I'm being a jerk too."

Danny stared at him for a long moment, and Benny grinned in response. Finally, Danny nodded, cracking the barest of his own smile. "Alright. Are all American 80s kids as weird as you?"

Benny laughed and shook his head. "Nah man. You can ask Emmet. I'm the weirdest kid you'll ever meet."

Daniel chuckled. "I believe I can say the same about myself."

"You ought to come to Quidditch practice, if you want," Benny added. "I mean, if you have nothing else to do, you might as well come out and watch, right?"

Before he could answer, Unikitty stepped up in front of everyone and shouted across the students.

"All students must return to their dorms now and stay there until further notice!"

When everyone stayed silent and seated, watching her curiously, she suddenly turned red and growled at them all. "NOW."

At that, the students began scrambling away, with the prefects and the other teachers milling about to get everyone where they needed to be. Benny pulled Danny to the side and whispered to him.

"Is this normal for British schools?" he asked.

Danny shrugged. "I don't know. We better do as told."

"She didn't even tell anyone what's going on," Benny pointed out. "I want to know."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "Well if we don't want to get in trouble, we ought to wait for the rumors about it."

Benny lifted a hand to his head and then gasped. "My helmet!"

Daniel shook his head and began pulling Benny along. "They know it's yours. They'll give it back to you later."

"Dude, it'll take like two seconds to get it," Benny insisted. "No one's looking, I'll be right in and out, promise."

Danny rolled his eyes and let him go. "Fine, but if you get us in trouble…"

"Never said you have to follow me, man," Benny answered before sneaking back into the Great Hall with Danny following close behind. As soon as Benny grabbed his helmet and stuck it back on his head, he and Daniel hurried back out, only to find the area completely empty.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Danny mumbled as he grabbed Benny's arm and dragged him in the direction of the Ravenclaw tower.

They hurried to catch up with the other students until Daniel stopped suddenly, holding his arm out to prevent Benny from continuing forward.

"Dude," Benny grunted, only to be shushed by Daniel.

Danny turned around again, tilting his head to listen. "I hear growling," he mumbled. He motioned Benny to follow slowly, and they walked as quietly as they could in the empty hall until they reached the entrance to another hallway. He motioned for Benny to stay put again while he peeked around the corner and drew his head back around, tightening his fists in surprise.

"What is it?" Benny whispered.

"Which beast is the one with a lion's head, goat's body, and dragon's tail?" Daniel whispered.

"Chimaera?" Benny asked. He paled and gripped Daniel's wrist. "Please tell me that there isn't a chimaera around the corner."

Danny held a finger over his lips to motion for him to be quiet. They both peered around the corner again, spying the monster as it prowled back and forth down the corridor but luckily had not noticed them yet. Benny pulled Danny back around the corner and motioned towards the chimaera, as if asking what to do. He then motioned down the corridor, and up, indicating the fact that their destination was on the other side of the beast.

Daniel shook his head but pulled out his wand, and Benny did the same, both of them with their brows furrowed in thought. Daniel motioned for them to go back the way they came and Benny nodded and followed. They barely made it ten steps away before they heard a roar and looked over their shoulders to find the chimaera had made it into their hallway and saw them.

"Run!" Danny ordered, and he and Benny took off down the hallway, away from the animal.

They could hear the sound of hooves against tile gaining on them, and neither of them dared to look back.

"Dude, we're going to die!" Benny cried. "We're going to be killed and eaten, and I didn't get sent thirty years into the future just to be breakfast for some hodgepodge of animals!"

"Shut up!" Danny countered before looking over his shoulder at the chimaera. He pointed his wand and shouted "Locomotor Mortis!"

The front legs of the chimaera suddenly froze together, sending it tumbling forward. Danny grabbed Benny's hand as the other boy started to slow and continued pulling him forward.

"That's not going to hold it long!" Danny insisted. "We still need to get to safety!" Daniel smiled nervously. "If you don't mind."

Benny nodded and the two of them kept running until they were suddenly grabbed and pulled into a room. They looked up and saw Emmet and Unikitty, the former motioning for them to stay silent while the latter looked out the door and motioned to someone outside it. She then closed the door again, just as loud shouts and fighting could be heard outside, and frowned at the two children.

"Why didn't you two go to your dorm?" she asked, trying to sound stern around what seemed like relief.

"We were trying to, ma'am," Benny answered.

Daniel nodded. "The chimaera blocked our path. We didn't dare try passing it, but it still saw us and almost caught us."

"I am  _ so _ glad it didn't," Emmet sighed. "Unikitty, how did that even get into the school?"

"Somehow must have brought in an egg and hatched it," she determined. "We're lucky it's just a baby. At least Batman and Metalbeard should be able to get it out."

"That was just a baby?" Danny frowned. "That explains why I was actually able to curse it."

She nodded. "A good thing, too. If you weren't able to, it might have caught you… And I thought the student we'd have to worry about would be Mr. Potter…"

"I'm sorry, can we discuss  _ who _ brought a  _ chimaera _ egg to school?" Benny asked. "Aren't those things, like, major illegal?"

"Oh, they are!" Unikitty giggled. "And you can bet that the moment we find them, whoever did it will be ousted from the campus before you can say 'cotton candy bubble gum'!"

Benny nodded and leaned back onto a nearby desk where he let out a small chuckle. "Man, dude, Danny. Where'd you learn  _ that _ spell?"

"I…" Danny put away his wand. "I had some spare time while avoiding you."

"Well it's impressive," Emmet agreed. "That's a really hard spell for first years, and we're only a few weeks into the school year. Even Benny doesn't know it yet."

Benny frowned at him. "Hey, I need to know, how formal are we being about this? I know we grew up together for eleven years, but you're kinda  _ old _ now and also my teacher…? Don't I still have to call you Professor Brickowski?"

"Oh, is  _ that _ why Vitruvius hired you?" Unikitty asked, elbowing Emmet slightly. "You used to know Benny?"

Emmet rubbed the back of his neck and nodded. "Yeah, we were best buds back in the day… It actually got pretty lonely after he disappeared. I never really made any more friends after that…"

"Sorry, dude," Benny shrugged. "But seriously?"

Emmet looked at Unikitty and shrugged. "Would it be alright if I let my students all call me Emmet? I mean, considering how most of you have nicknames as well…"

"Sure, silly!" Unikitty answered. "Whatever you want. But I think you should be more careful about letting it slip about Benny. I think we're trying to keep it a secret for some reason."

"Some secret," Danny mumbled. "If Professor Vitruvius hired Professor Brick- Professor  _ Emmet _ with the anticipation of him knowing Benny."

"Yeah, that  _ is _ weird," Emmet shrugged.

A knock came at the door and Unikitty opened it slightly and then threw it open for Wyldstyle to walk in.

"Alright, the chimaera's been captured, and we're searching the castle thoroughly for any more surprises," she announced. She glanced over at the two boys and frowned. "And I see we only got  _ most _ of the students into their dorms."

"Sorry, Madam," Daniel smiled at her. "The chimaera was in the way on our path to the tower."

She shook her head and sighed. "Alright, we'll let you off this time since it's not like you were  _ trying _ to fight it. I'll lead you two back to the tower, just in case we run into anything else on the way. Provided you two didn't get hurt?"

"No, Madam," Daniel answered. "We're fine. Just a little shaken."

She nodded. "Alright, then let's go." She took the two of them back to the Ravenclaw tower and answered the riddle to let them in. The other students lounging around the common room all looked up and sat straight as she entered, and she smiled at all of them. "Sorry, you guys are still stuck in here."

The students all let out groans and slumped down again while Wyldstyle left, leaving Danny and Benny behind.

"Dan, Ben!" Lenny called. "You two alright? You're late!"

Benny smiled at Danny despite his frown and nodded towards the space pals to invite him over. Danny sighed and followed Benny to them, sitting next to him on the floor while the others kept their usual seating arrangement.

"We saw why they locked us all in here," Benny whispered to them.

"What is it?" Penny asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"A chimaera," Daniel answered. He watched as the others gasped in surprise and then he continued. "Just a babe, but just as deadly, I'd suppose. They're looking for any other dangerous creatures at the moment."

"Don't be so modest," Benny chuckled, throwing an arm over his shoulders. "Danny totally saved our butts from it. Threw a leg-locker curse on it."

"Really?" Kenny asked, his brows shooting up in delight. "That's impressive for a first year, especially so early into the year."

"It's kind of funny too," Benny added. "That we encountered a chimaera."

Danny frowned at him. "Why is that?"

"Because it's a mix of different animals," Benny answered. "And you're a mix of two different people."

"That's a good nickname for you," Lenny told Danny. "Chimaera. And it's a testimony to your success."

"You will call me by my actual name or so help me…" Danny growled. Daniel smiled and shrugged. "Or at least, that's what I'd prefer."

Kenny rolled his eyes. "I swear, we'll get you a nickname one of these days. Even if it has to be one for each of your sides."

"Just call them what they want to be called," Jenny sighed. She shook her head and frowned. "Goodness, this is worrying. How did a chimaera get here?"

"They think someone brought an egg and hatched it," Daniel answered. "They don't know who yet."

"Who would even do such a thing?" Jenny frowned. "Don't they realize how many people they could have hurt?"

Danny frowned. "Maybe that's what they wanted."

Benny shook his head. "Danny, c'mon, don't be so paranoid."

"I'm not," Danny frowned at them. Daniel shrugged. "It would make sense… It's one thing to smuggle in the egg, but to go through the trouble of hatching it and setting it loose on school grounds?" Danny scowled. "Wouldn't surprise me if someone's trying to cause trouble because of the Potter kid."

The space pals all glanced to each other, not saying a word as they thought over it until a small growl distracted them. They looked at Benny who blushed and chuckled lightly.

"I didn't get to eat breakfast," he admitted.

"Aw, you poor baby," Penny laughed.

Jenny stood up. "I have some snacks I can share. I'll be right back."

After she left, the other three older space pals picked up a conversation about space, and Daniel leaned out of it, glancing around at the other students in the common room, most of them catching up on homework or playing around as they waited to be allowed out again. He felt something nudge him and looked over at Benny.

"I don't know what you were worried about," Benny whispered. "That was plenty smart, how you handled that."

"That wasn't smart," Danny answered. "That was common sense. What else were we supposed to do?"

He shook his head. "I'm glad you came back with me for my helmet. I would have just walked straight into it otherwise. Thanks, man."

Daniel smiled and nodded. "My pleasure."

Benny smiled back and only looked away when Jenny came back with the promised snacks a moment later, and the six of them shared them as the conversation continued, eventually moving on from space to inviting Danny and Daniel to talk about topics they liked.

_ "See?" _ Daniel asked.  _ "They actually do want to include us. They can be our friends too, not just Benny's." _

Danny tried to hide his smile, but then leaned closer to speak. "So, since Ben's from America, he hadn't heard of Quidditch before coming here, so my family showed him the most recent world cup…"


	8. Chapter 8

" _Footloose, kick off the Sunday shoes_ _  
_ _Please, Louise, pull me off of my knees_ _  
_ _Jack, get Mack, come on before we crack_ _  
_ _Lose your blues, everybody cut footloose…_ "

"BENNY."

Benny slipped off the table, only to be caught by Danny. Benny lowered his headphones and smiled up at him. "Hey, Danny. What's happening?"

"Nothing's happening," Danny growled. Daniel helped Benny stand up again. "I know you have nothing else to do, but… what exactly _are_ you doing?"

"Uh…" Benny paused his walkman and shrugged. "Cutting footloose?"

"On the table," Danny reiterated. "In the common room. Where everyone can see you dancing and hear you singing."

Benny nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Americans are weird," another nearby student mumbled.

Benny clicked his tongue and winked at them. "You know it."

"Isn't there something important happening soon?" Danny asked. "Something that you're supposed to be preparing for?"

"Dude, yeah, I know…" Benny frowned and sighed. "Not looking forward to it…"

Daniel shook his head. "But you'll be late for the meeting if you don't leave soon…"

He shook his head. "Nah, they said they had a surprise for me and to wait for someone to come up and get me."

Danny rolled his eyes. "What do you think _I'm_ here for?"

"Oh!" Benny grinned. "Alright, let me put my walkman away and then I'll go with."

Soon, Benny followed Danny out of the castle, but seemed to sigh every few seconds. Daniel looked back at Benny and smiled comfortingly.

"Not excited about the surprise?" he asked.

"Nah, why would I be?" Benny asked. "I mean, I kind of know what's going to happen, and no matter what someone will be disappointed. Most likely me."

"I know," Danny frowned. "But you can't really expect them to… You know… By the way, you never told me what position you got."

"Chaser," he chimed.

"Really?" Daniel asked. "I would have sworn they'd put you as Seeker. You're framed well for it, and fairly fast."

"Nah, they have some other kid pinned down as Seeker," Benny replied. "But I'd get more action with a Quaffle anyway, y'know?"

"Right, because Seekers are known for sitting still looking for the Snitch," Danny mumbled.

"Dude, sarcasm does not look good on you," Benny laughed. "No, seriously, I don't know why I'm Chaser either."

"Aren't Jenny and Penny Chasers too?" Danny asked. "And Kenny and Lenny are both Beaters. Maybe they wanted all you 'space pals' on similar positions."

"Maybe," Benny shrugged.

They finally got to the Quidditch pitch and entered the tent where Benny's team waited for them, including the team captain, a tall Keeper named Renny Keene, and their Seeker, a second-year boy named Tennyson Arlenge. Madam Wyldstyle stood with them, beaming proudly as Daniel led Benny in.

"We're going to _win_ the Quidditch Cup this year," she determined. "So I better hear that all of you are training hard and playing well, got that?"

"Yes, Madam," the team answered.

"And you all have your brooms," Wyldstyle continued. "Except for Benny, of course, being a first year."

"Technically, I _do_ have a broom," Benny frowned. "Just not here. It's a Nimbus 1700."

Renny wrinkled her nose. "Didn't those come out in the 80s?"

Tenny laughed. "Your 'space pals' said you were really into 80s stuff, but even that?"

Benny crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "I happen to _like_ my Nimbus 1700. I don't care if it's old and slow."

"Well, _I_ do," Wyldstyle answered. "You can't fly a retro 80s broom on this team and expect to get good results."

"What- what if I upgrade it?" Benny argued. "There has to be a way to make it faster, right? Or is that against the _rules."_ He pulled a small face before looking up at Wyldstyle again. "Is that allowed? To put upgrades on it somehow?"

"Actually…" Wyldstyle sighed and Benny held his breath. "Yes," she nodded, smiling. "That's the surprise."

"What?" Benny asked, his eyes widening as he grinned ecstatically. "Really?"

"I had to go through so many regulations to figure it out," Wyldstyle sighed. "And then I still had to ask if that'd be allowed, and they just laughed and told me as long as I don't compromise the safety of the broom and as long as I don't do anything to give you an unfair advantage, I can 'try' to upgrade it."

"I told them how much you like your own broom," Daniel clarified. "Mummy and Daddy sent it the other day. They haven't added the upgrades yet because they want your permission first, but they're ready to add if you want."

Benny bounced on his heels excited. "That's totally boss! How fast will it be?"

"About as fast as a Firebolt," Wyldstyle answered. "It's hard to get any broom faster than that by upgrading it, not that most people know how to upgrade brooms to start with. So that's why I upgraded the entire teams' brooms. Seriously, why are you all using old Nimbus brooms?"

"Firebolts are expensive, Madam," Jenny answered.

Sighing, Wyldstyle turned towards Benny again and then smiled. "So, what do you say? Upgrades?"

"Yeah, totally!" Benny nodded.

"Great," she laughed almost as evilly as their first class with her. "All of you, out for a moment. I'll call you back in when I'm done."

They filed out of the tent and chatted with each other about the upcoming training schedule until Wyldstyle finally called them back in, with seven brooms on display, all in different colors.

"Renny has green, Tenny has orange, Penny has black, Jenny has yellow, Lenny has white, Kenny has red, and Benny has blue, of course," Wyldstyle told them, each of them grabbing their brooms as revealed.

Danny squinted at her. "Madam, everyone on your team has an 'enny' name as well as broom colors that rhyme with their surnames."

"It's coincidence," she insisted. "Alright, my work is done. Let's go out and test these babies and then I'll let you guys continue your training in peace."

"We certainly need it," Renny mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Madam," Renny answered.

Daniel and Wyldstyle cheered as they watched the team test out their brooms, save for Benny who stayed ground bound as he inspected his broom for some reason. He glanced up at Daniel who smiled at him encouragingly, and then looked up as Renny shouted for him to get into the air and see how fast he could go. Benny shrugged and mounted his broom, and the next thing anyone knew, all they could see was a blue blur flying around the Quidditch pitch, flying even faster than any of the others even dared. Wyldstyle whooped in joy and Benny slowed down after a few rounds to hover next to Jenny and laugh almost like Wyldstyle had before.

"That was RADICAL!" they heard him shout.

"That's great," Renny answered. "But keep your head in the game, Blu- I mean Chu."

"Nah, dude, call me Blu!" Benny laughed. "That's awesome!"

"Dan, get down here and throw golf balls for Orange to practice with!" Kenny called. "White and I will practice down the pitch."

"Who's the team captain, Red?" Renny argued. "Dan, if you please? Yellow, Black, get the Quaffle out and show Blu how it's done."

"Sure thing, Green!" Penny called, heading down for the box of balls with Jenny following just after.

Wyldstyle chuckled and ruffled Daniel's hair as they both stood up. "Keep me updated if anyone's brooms explode, kid. I'm going back in."

"What?" Danny demanded, but Wyldstyle already started walking away. He sighed and shook his head and then hurried down to help "Orange" with his training.

_"Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it_ _  
_ _No one wants to be defeated_ _  
_ _Showin' how funky strong is your fight_   
_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right_ _  
Just beat it"_

Benny jumped as someone tapped his shoulder and he lowered his headphones at the sight of Daniel smiling at him. "Oh, hey, you need something?"

"You're still doing homework?" Daniel asked.

"Nah, I finished a little while ago." Benny slid his parchment over to show him his drawing. "Look, I was drawing a spaceship… Pretty cool, huh?"

"A spaceship?" Danny asked, glancing over the design. "One of those things your space pals talk with you about, right?"

"Yeah," Benny nodded. "The muggle space program, dude, it's amazing. They actually went to the _moon._ They have robots on _Mars."_

"How's that even possible?" Daniel asked. "I don't think there's any magic that can do that…"

"Through the magic of science, man," Benny answered, nodding. "I mean, muggles can't do magic, but they can do a whole lot more without it than most wizards can without it. The moon thing happened before _I_ was born, so just imagine how soon it might be before human beings can walk on Mars."

"Hmm." Danny shook his head. "Ben, do you remember what day it is?"

Benny paused his walkman and thought about it. "It's Halloween!" he gasped, jumping to his feet. "We'll be late for the feast!"

"Exactly," Danny answered, pulling him by the wrist. "Let's get going."

They hurried down the stairs of the tower and then through the halls to catch up with the other students. They slowed down as they came closer until Daniel just stopped, causing Benny to run into him.

"Dude, what?" Benny asked.

Daniel shushed him.

"Dude, this better not be like the chimaera thing," he whispered harshly. "Worse, if you're just trying to spook me…"

"Shush, will you?" Danny interrupted. He carefully pressed against a door and opened it slightly, motioning for Benny to wait where he was as he looked in.

"I'm telling you," a voice sighed from somewhere inside the room. "It's really annoying that people are messing with my plans."

"Yes, sir," another voice droned.

"It should have been simple," the first voice continued. "Hatch a chimaera egg, let the chimaera distract them while I finish that time thing-a-ma-hoo-zit. But noooo, someone had to throw a leg locker curse on it and give the teachers enough time to catch it."

"Yes, sir," the second voice droned again.

"This time. _This_ time, though. I got it covered. When they least expect it- BOOM. This egg will hatch and we'll have ourselves a _dragon_ for them to deal with."

"Is that why this room is so hot, sir?"

"Yeah, except there's… There's kind of a draft? Did someone leave a door open?"

Danny let go of the door handle and grabbed Benny by the wrist and pulled him off again. Benny yelped from the sudden yank on his arm, but they hurried to catch up with the others, Danny running faster than what seemed necessary, until they ran into a teacher and toppled over them.

"Five points from Ravenclaw for each of you," the teacher groaned.

"Sorry," Daniel said as he held out a hand to help her up.

"I know you're excited about the feast, but they'll be plenty of time to get there," the teacher insisted after she wiped down her robes.

Danny frowned. "Sorry, but there's something important…"

"Yes, Mr. Copper?" she asked.

"I was listening in on a room somewhere down there…" Danny continued. "I can't tell you which one, I'm not sure of that, but whoever was in that room talked about how they were the ones to hatch the chimaera earlier this year and that now they have a dragon egg they want to hatch."

"Goodness, what imagination," the teacher chuckled. "I'm sure there's nothing of the sort…"

"I assure you, ma'am," Daniel continued. "I actually heard this."

The teacher shook her head. "Well, you're welcome to tell Professor Kittyrina if you really want, though I can't imagine why anyone would have a _dragon_ egg on school grounds…"

"Someone had a chimaera egg on school grounds," Benny chimed.

The teacher frowned at them. "You best hurry to the Great Hall before the feast starts without you…"

"Yes, ma'am," Daniel nodded, frowning. "Sorry…"

Benny followed Danny as he stormed on his way to the Great Hall. "Dude, did you really hear someone say that in there?"

"Why would I lie?" he asked. "We'll tell Professor Unikitty after the feast… Lousy little… Who was that teacher anyway?"

Benny shook his head. "No clue."

Daniel frowned. "Why isn't she going to the feast as well? And I thought everyone here called Professor Unikitty by her nickname and not her real name?"

"Yeah, that is weird…" Benny frowned.

Danny furrowed his brow. "C'mon, we're not waiting for the feast. We're telling Professor Unikitty now. Something is wrong here."

They flagged Unikitty down the moment they walked into the Great Hall and whispered to her what they found. Unikitty motioned for Batman and Metalbeard to come with her and signaled for Vitruvius to start the feast without them. Danny explained again as they walked back down the hall towards the room he had found earlier.

"I'm not sure which one it is," he said. "I just noticed it because it was unusually hot walking past it."

"You two get into all the trouble, don't you?" Batman asked. "None of these rooms seem much warmer than the others.

"It was this room," Benny said, pointing to the door. "I remember looking at the weird bird thing engraved on it."

Batman felt the outside of the door. "Yep, it's definitely cool in there. If you two _are_ telling the truth, I bet whoever was in there hightailed it already."

"Well don't just speculate ye daft bat!" Metalbeard shouted, pushing him out of the way. He opened the door and hurried into the room, and Batman and Unikitty followed after while Benny and Daniel watched from the outside, their heads poking in through the door frame.

They found an abandoned classroom with its fireplace unlit and no trace of anyone having been there. Danny frowned and walked in and Benny followed after him.

"Well, Dan," Metalbeard asked. "Where be yer dragon?"

"No, he's right," Batman interjected, leaning by the fire. "The coals here are wet, but they're still warm. Someone had them hot enough to hatch a dragon egg, that's for sure." He stood up and looked around. "Besides that, this room isn't supposed to have been used in a few years. There's absolutely no dust here at all."

"Aye, but if there were people in here," Metalbeard asked, "where be they now? And who told them to flee?"

"The professor we ran into," Danny decided. "She didn't believe us when we told her, and she came in this direction when we went to tell you."

"What professor?" Unikitty asked. "Everyone's already in the Great Hall besides us."

"Some lady with one of those beehive hairstyles," Benny answered.

"No one here has one of those ridiculous hairstyles," Batman argued.

"That's weird," Benny frowned. "Since she deducted five points from each of us for running into her."

"I'll look into it," Unikitty assured.

"So not only do we have someone with a dragon egg in school," Batman said, "but there's also someone posing as a teacher helping them. And we have no idea where they are now."

"Dan, did ye hear why they want to hatch a dragon egg?" Metalbeard asked.

"From what I can tell, the same reason they hatched the chimaera egg," Daniel answered. Danny frowned and glanced at Benny before looking at the adults again. "They wanted to distract everyone so they could finish some… some time thing."

"Time thing?" Unikitty asked. "Huh. Batman, Metalbeard, do you have everything covered? I'll bring these two back to the feast."

Batman frowned. "But I was really looking forward to the batmilk and cookies."

"There be no batmilk!" Metalbeard argued. "We tell ye this each year."

Unikitty shook her head and pushed the two boys out the door. "Let these two handle the mystery, boys. You two probably want to have some of the sweets, right?"

"Totally!" Benny nodded, and Daniel nodded just as excitedly.

"Then let's go," Unikitty giggled.

The three of them returned to the Great Hall, and the space pals gave them looks as Danny and Benny sat down.

"Where were you guys?" Kenny asked. "You're really late."

"Danny saw that a puffskein got in and got stuck in one of the classrooms rafters," Benny said.

Daniel nodded. "Professor Unikitty is getting Batman and Metalbeard to let it out."

Lenny shook his head. "At least it wasn't another chimaera. Hey, Ben, try this drink."

Benny took it and sipped it and immediately choked. "Dude, what is that?!"

"Batmilk," Penny laughed. "Batman finally got them to bring it in this year. Too bad he's missing it."

"It's actually not that bad," Benny said. "Needs something though. Those gummy things have strawberry syrup in them right?" he asked, pointing to the candy Daniel was shoving into his mouth.

Danny handed them over and they all watched as Benny squeezed the syrup out into the batmilk and then mixed it with a spoon, turning the white liquid pink. They then watched in further disgust as Benny happily drank the milk.

"Benny." Penny wrinkled her nose. "Benny. Dude. Benny."

Benny held out his cup. "Want to try?"

"You're the weirdest person ever," Danny told him.

He winked at him. "Pass the cookies, will you?"

"Biscuits," Danny mumbled as he reached for the platter.

"Dude, I don't care, just pass them over."


	9. Chapter 9

"Don't forget, next week we'll be going back to Ireland for Christmas…"

"I'm not going."

Daniel blinked and lifted his hand to his ear, as if to fix his hearing. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

"I'm not going," Benny answered tersely. "I'll be staying here over Christmas break."

Danny frowned. "Why? Mummy and Daddy are expecting both of us."

"And I don't want to disappoint them," Benny shrugged. "But I'm not going."

Benny tried to walk away, but Danny blocked him, staring at him from over his aviators. Benny dropped his shoulders and groaned.

"Alright, look, remember what happened to me the  _ last _ time I left school for Christmas break?" Benny furrowed his brow, shaking his head slightly as his voice almost noticeably raised in pitch. "I don't… I don't want to… You know…"

Daniel pulled Benny into a hug. "Benny, whatever accident happened won't happen again. You'll be alright." He pulled away, hands clasped around his shoulders, and smiled warmly. "Now, come on. We'll go back to Ireland and you can tell my parents all about your first Quidditch game. I wrote to them about it, but they're looking forward to your version."

Benny cracked a smile. "I'm not going."

Danny scowled. "Benny!"

The other boy pushed past him before he could stop him, and Daniel was left to watch Benny disappear around the corner.

_ "What do we do?" _ Daniel asked.  _ "I don't want him to be by himself, but I don't want to miss out on seeing Mummy and Daddy over Christmas." _

_ "Hmph." _ Danny shook his head.  _ "If he doesn't want to come home with us, then let him stay." _

_ "Danny…" _ Daniel thought.  _ "Isn't the rest of the Quidditch team returning home over the break as well? Is there anyone in our house that's staying?" _

Danny groaned and shook his head.  _ "I don't care. We're going home with or without him." _

Daniel sighed.  _ "Fine, if we must…" _

The next week came almost too quickly and Daniel pouted as he headed for the train back to King's Cross Station. Danny scowled and turned to the side, muttering quietly. "Daniel, I  _ told _ you that we're going home even if he isn't coming with us." Daniel shook his head and faced the other way. "I was hoping you'd convince him otherwise… Or even that we'd decide to stay here and not leave him all alone."

"Dude, I'll be fine."

Danny jumped and turned around to see Benny standing there, smiling at him.

Benny laughed and shook his head. "Dude, don't worry. I just have some things I need to do at school over the break. Emmet's going to help. I mean, I have thirty years to catch up on, y'know?"

Daniel frowned. "You should have said so sooner. I was worried the entire week…"

"Yeah, my bad, man," Benny sighed. He pulled out two envelopes and held them out. "Here, one's for your parents since I realized that I don't write them and they might be worried about me. The other's for you, but don't open it until tomorrow after you get home. Seriously, man, I even got Kenny to get me one of those envelopes that bite if you try opening it before the date marked."

Danny took the letters and pocketed them. "Must be something serious then."

"No way, why would you think that?" Benny grinned. "Alright, have fun with your folks. I'll be sure to spend Christmas with you next year, okay?"

"Alright," Daniel nodded. "Take care, Benny. I'll see you when I get back."

Benny waved at him and he waved back and then hurried on his way to the train. The other space pals motioned him over once they caught sight of them, and he hurried to them and they boarded the train together.

"Benny's not going to visit his folks, huh?" Kenny asked as they searched for an empty compartment. The girls and Danny sat on one side while Kenny and Lenny took the other.

Danny shook his head. "No. Apparently Professor Emmet is tutoring him on history…"

"Yeah, for someone who took half a year of school ahead of other first years, he seems kind of behind in history," Penny mused.

"At least he should be learning most everything else at the same time as you and the other first years now," Lenny nodded. "Y'know, except for anything the American school taught early that they teach late here."

"Where did he even go to school before?" Jenny asked

Daniel hummed. "I'm not sure. He never told me."

"So what do you guys plan to do with your family for Christmas?" Lenny asked

The others continued to drone on as the train pulled away from the station, and Daniel sighed and stared out the window.

_ "Too bad Benny isn't coming with us," _ he thought.

_ "Well, if he has to be tutored, then so be it," _ Danny countered.  _ "Mummy and Daddy will understand." _

_ "What do you think is in that letter for us that he couldn't tell us in person?"  _ Daniel asked.

Danny shook his head and let his eyes shut.  _ "We'll worry about it later." _

"You okay there, Dan?" Lenny asked suddenly.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Tired?" Kenny teased.

"Leave him alone," Jenny told him. "If he wants to sleep let him."

"We'll wake you when we get closer to the station," Penny told him, rubbing his back. "Go ahead and sleep for now."

"Thanks," he mumbled. He slipped off to sleep just a moment later.

Later, Daniel quickly ran up to his parents, throwing his arms around both of them in a hug.

"Couldn't convince Benny to come with you after all?" Mrs. Copper asked him.

He shook his head. "No. You got my letter about Professor Emmet? Benny's staying so that he can help him catch up on history." Danny reached into his pocket and held out the letter for them. "But Benny did write this for you. "

Mr. Copper took it, smiling. "What a nice boy. Ready to go home, son?"

Daniel nodded, smiling widely, and soon the three of them were on their way back home. After they got home, Danny and Daniel took turns telling stories about their time at Hogwarts, though they skipped over the incident with the chimaera and the one on Halloween. Mrs. Copper then read Benny's letter aloud, and they laughed at the Benny's take of some of the stories already told, including a detailed report on the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff game.

Eventually, Mrs. Copper sent her son to bed, and Daniel hurried to his room, eager to sleep in familiar surroundings again. After only a few hours of sleep, Danny cracked an eye open and then sat up, pulling on his glasses.

_ "Daniel, wake up," _ he urged.

Daniel groaned in the back of his mind.  _ "What time is it?" _

Danny glanced at the clock on the wall, squinting at the time bathed in moonlight.  _ "Half past one." _

Daniel groaned again.  _ "Why so early?" _ he asked.

_ "Benny's letter," _ Danny reminded. He instantly felt Daniel become alert. Daniel grabbed a nearby flashlight, one his father charmed from a muggle version, and he flicked it on. Danny wandered over to his desk, placed against the window, opened the envelope, nodding in relief as it didn't jump up and bite him.

He slipped the parchment out and unfolded it. Daniel frowned at the deliberate strokes of ink and read the letter closely.

_ Dear Dan, _

_ First off, ask if your Dad would be able to get me ballpoint pens for Christmas. I'm tired of these stupid quills. Even my school in America in the 80s let us use  _ _ actual _ _ pens. Anyway, I didn't just stay at Hogwarts because I need to catch up on things. I'm going to look into who brought the chimaera and dragon eggs to school. If they know about time stuff, then maybe they're involved with what brought me here. Probably not, but I'm going to look into it anyway. _

_ Before you get mad and start kicking chairs because I'm doing something stupid without you, I needed you to go home. Your parents have been looking into my time travel, right? I need you to ask what they've found, if anything, and otherwise find out if they don't tell you. _

_ I'm trusting you, dude. I know you want to stay out of messes like this, but I know you secretly want to know what's going on as well. I'll let you know what I found as soon as you get back. Don't let me down, man. _

_ -Ben Chu _

Danny extinguished the light and quickly tore up the letter. He opened the window and let some of the pieces out on the wind and then dropped the rest into the bin. Daniel frowned and watched the pieces as they disappeared into the night.

_ "What was that about?" _ he asked his other self.

_ "Can't be too careful," _ Danny answered, shutting the window before heading back to bed.

_ "That's very paranoid of you," _ Daniel commented as he pulled the covers tight around him again.

Danny set his glasses aside.  _ "Good night, Daniel." _

_ "Night," _ Daniel yawned before shutting his eyes and quickly returning to sleep.

The next morning, Danny headed downstairs for breakfast, and smiled at the familiar sights and smells of his mother's cooking.

"Missed this, didn't you, son?" Mr. Copper laughed, ruffling his son's hair as he sat down. "We missed having you around too."

Daniel nodded. "Mummy, Daddy… I have a question…"

"Yes?" Mrs. Copper asked as she set out the last plate and sat as well.

"Did you find out anything about Benny?" Daniel asked, smiling. "About what happened to him or why…?"

Mrs. and Mr. Copper shared a look. Mr. Copper smiled at Daniel again and shrugged. "Oh, this and that, son. Nothing important."

"Please?" Daniel asked. "I'd like to know…"

Mrs. Copper sighed but nodded at her husband who nodded in return.

"After breakfast, Dan," Mr. Copper answered. "I'll show you some of the things we uncovered."

Danny smiled. "Thank you, Daddy."

Breakfast flew by quickly, and Danny followed his father into a private room full of any papers of any sort of information his parents thought they might need. Though they worked from home often on small assignments, Mr. and Mrs. Copper were accomplished aurors of Ireland's Ministry of Magic, and they worked more with the slow work of uncovering mysteries than the action of tracking down users of the dark arts.

Danny kept up with his father, knowing how easy it would be to become lost in the overflowing files, and they finally made it to the back corner where a small blue box sat in wait.

"There's not much we can do for him," Mr. Copper sighed. "After all, he is right about not being able to go back home, if his friend from the past never remembered seeing him again. And we haven't been able to find anything that could have caused his time travel."

"What did you find?" Daniel asked.

Mr. Copper handed the box to him. He looked into it and frowned at the few sheets of paper inside.

"I suppose we shouldn't keep it from the lad," Mr. Copper nodded. "But we haven't sent them in case someone else sees them. But..." He winked. "We'll let it slide and send him some copies when Ma sends his Christmas gift."

"He said he wants something called 'ballpoint pens'," Danny told him.

"Oh?" Mr. Copper smiled and shook his head. "I'll see if I can get some. Come on, son, it'll be easier for you to read in the living room."

Danny followed him out and then sat down and read through the few sheets of paper in the box. One was from a muggle newspaper, reporting a missing child fitting Benny's description and name. The details were clearly fudged by the parents, saying Benny went for a walk on his own whereas Benny had told them his little brother went with him. They offered a reward if he were found, though he wasn't sure if the amount offered was a lot or not, being American muggle money from the 80s.

The next paper was an article from a magic newspaper, complete with a photo of Benny and his friends. Benny had his broom with him and he slung his arm over the friend to his right who grinned at him nervously and then at the camera. On Benny's left was another child, a few inches taller and possibly older, with a head of curly red hair, an air of power about him. He said something to Benny that got his attention, and Benny flashed him a thumbs up before the photo repeated.

He looked over the caption and frowned. "Friends E. Brickowski, Benjamin Chu, and P. Business" He then read through the article.

_ Student from Augustine Institute of Magic, Benjamin Chu (left, middle), disappeared without a trace over the Christmas break from his home in Ohio. Chu was reported as flying his broom (pictured) in a secluded section of the woods near his home, out of sight of any muggles save for his younger brother, Christopher. The broom is a Nimbus 1700, a gift from friend Pendragon Business (left, right). Chu was wearing muggle winter clothing and a blue helmet. According to Christopher, Chu flew in circles around a clearing when the broom tail began to glow purple. Christopher reports an area of "weird, blurry sky" appearing in front of Chu just before Chu disappeared "like that", Christopher said while trying to snap his fingers. Ministry officials searched the area and could not uncover the magic involved, and no sight of Chu has since been reported anywhere else in the world. _

_ Please report any useful information on Chu's disappearance to your local Ministry office. Please do not include information on Chu's likes and dislikes, potential conspiracy theories, or suggestions that this is the work of that dark lord, You-Know-Who, from Britain. _

Daniel set the paper with the muggle article and looked into the box again. He pulled out a profile on Christopher "Rocket" Chu, a young man working as a muggle police officer, and another on Pendragon Business, now president of the Octan Corporation in Europe where they produced all sorts of magic inventions for domestic use. Danny hummed, glancing around at the few Octan products his mother had given into and bought only to leave them as decoration when they proved to be only useful as such. According to the notes his parents left attached to the profile, they could find nothing suspicious about Pendragon.

Daniel's brow shot up as he read on. Pendragon's wife had died a few years ago in an accident involving a construct of some sort, but Pendragon still had his son, a young boy named Serious Business who was attending Hogwarts that year as a first year.

His mother came in with the copies of the papers and Daniel smiled and traded them with the ones he was reading, and then eyed the Pendragon profile and noticed his parents notes missing from this version. Danny brought the papers upstairs to his desk and quickly pulled out a quill and ink and jotted down a note.

He circled the name "Serious Business" and wrote "do NOT try to contact". He let the ink dry as he fetched an envelope and then folded the papers and stuffed them in. Daniel wrote Benny's name in wide loops and then passed the quill to his other hand for Danny to add "for your eyes only" in tight, straight print.

_ "That will have to do for now," _ Danny told the other.

Daniel nodded.  _ "Yes, so it will. I hope Benny is faring well on his end." _

Danny sighed. "We'll find out when we get back," he muttered. "If he doesn't do something stupid first…"


	10. Chapter 10

The day before…

Benny laughed and shook his head. "Dude, don't worry. I just have some things I need to do at school over the break. Emmet's going to help. I mean, I have thirty years to catch up on, y'know?"

Daniel frowned. "You should have said so sooner. I was worried the entire week…"

"Yeah, my bad, man," Benny sighed. He pulled out two envelopes and held them out. "Here, one's for your parents since I realized that I don't write them and they might be worried about me. The other's for you, but don't open it until tomorrow after you get home. Seriously, man, I even got Kenny to get me one of those envelopes that bite if you try opening it before the date marked."

Danny took the letters and pocketed them. "Must be something serious then."

"No way, why would you think that?" Benny grinned. "Alright, have fun with your folks. I'll be sure to spend Christmas with you next year, okay?"

"Alright," Daniel nodded. "Take care, Benny. I'll see you when I get back."

Benny waved until Danny walked out of sight. He then dropped his hand, his smile immediately turning to a frown, and he wandered back through the halls of Hogwarts, where other students said final farewells to friends for the holidays or otherwise hung out with their friends who would be staying. It wouldn't be many, he was told. No Slytherins were staying that year, a handful of Gryffindors, a few Hufflepuffs, and him as the only Ravenclaw. This was no time for camaraderie, he determined, and he was glad that all the other Ravenclaws would be returning home. Even more, he was glad that the Potter kid and all of his friends would be gone too.

Something crazy was happening, but it was going slowly, steadily, like the tick of the hands around a clock face. A baby chimaera, a plot to hatch a dragon's egg… No other student besides Dan knew about the latter, and few enough knew about the chimaera… Whatever it was, it had to do with time and not the Potter legacy, and if someone was messing with time, then he wanted to know just what.

Benny smiled as he headed out to the lake where Metalbeard's ship, the Sea Cow, sat anchored, and he sat in the snow and watched as the pirate wizard did his usual battle against the giant squid. "How else will the squid get its exercise?" Metalbeard once countered when someone questioned why he fought against it.

There were a few rowboats pulled up on the bank of the lake for any visitors that would dare go onto Metalbeard's ship, and as soon as the fight was over and Metalbeard noticed him, Benny waved and then pointed to a rowboat, and Metalbeard gave him a signal for his permission to come aboard. Benny hurried over and pushed a boat into the freezing water and jumped into it. The boat rowed itself to Metalbeard's ship, to an intricate pulley system that brought it up to the main deck. Metalbeard held out a hand to help Benny on board, which he gladly accepted before standing firm on the slightly rocking ship.

He fell forward and Metalbeard caught him, laughing, and pulled him onto his shoulder like a ragdoll.

"Come on, then, Benjy," he guffawed, "It be warmer below deck."

Benny pumped his fists in excitement and let the captain carry him below, where Metalbeard set him down. Benny looked around, mapping the ship in his mind. Metalbeard's private cabin was behind him, with a second tier leading to a room above deck. The head was next to him. The galley in front of him. And finally, a makeshift living area around him, with lumpy couches bolted to the floor, crusty with saltwater, and a coffee table between the couches, also bolted to the floor to prevent them from rolling during those stormy days at sea. Benny picked what he felt was the least messy spot of his favorite sofa, the one as deep a blue as the ocean, and he watched as Metalbeard walked the few paces into the galley to fetch some snacks.

"Ye be the only Ravenclaw staying for Christmas, then?" Metalbeard asked, setting out some sweet seaweed cakes as fresh and warm as day-old toast.

Benny took one and bit into it, nodding as he stuffed his face.

"Well, if ye get lonely, yer welcome to come visit yer ol' pal Metalbeard," he told him, pushing a cup of orange juice his way.

He gladly washed down the dry cake with the juice, actually fresh, though not as delicious as Tang, and grinned. "I would have gone with Dan back to his folks' place in Ireland, but Em- I mean, Professor Emmet wanted to tutor me on some things… I'm just not getting history as well as I should."

"Aye, well, ye be a bright lad," Metalbeard nodded. "Ye'll catch up soon enough. Too bad ye can't see Ireland in Christmas time. Not a more gorgeous land ye'll see."

Benny smiled and grabbed another seaweed cake. "You know, it's weird. It feels like it was Christmas only half a year ago."

Metalbeard paused from the tending the fire and turned towards him to frown. "That be an odd length of time to state."

Benny shrugged. "So, did you and Batman ever find the dragon egg or whoever brought it in?"

"We found an egg, alright," Metalbeard mumbled before sinking into the couch opposite Benny. "About to hatch, at that. It burst out of its shell the moment we wandered up to it, and it nearly took off me hand. Good thing I have replacements…"

He hummed. "Yeah, you said that you replaced most of your body with magical clockwork parts, right? You never told me how you lost your old body."

Metalbeard grinned. "Now there be a story worth telling! Just, ah… Don't let the other staff know. They tell me 'ye'll give the students nightmares' as if ye kids aren't tough enough to handle gruesome details with those muggle films of terror we see streaming on yer nabfilm thing."

Benny frowned and shook his head. "Dude, I don't know what that nabfilm thing is. But the scariest movie I ever saw was the Exorcist, and dude, that gave me nightmares for a week."

"Well, listen to me tale of woe, and we'll see how much ye quake in yer first year boots," Metalbeard nodded. "I was with me pirate crew, some of the best witches and wizards I ever knew, and we were infiltrating the lair of the dreaded  _ Black Falcon _ .

"Some say the Black Falcon be only a myth, but I saw with my very eyes the  _ horror _ that lies beyond those fortress walls! We were on the search of an ancient artifact rumored to be of great power that could end the very world as we know it. We arrived at the foot of the fortress, only to find the rumored artifact be on the infinitieth level, guarded by a metal construct army! And security measures of every kind...

"Magic! Sharks! Magic sharks! Overbearing assistants! And other strange and mysterious artifacts that entrap, snap, and zap! And worst of all, a mysterious room called the  _ Think Tank. _ I barely made it out of that room with just me head! …And organs."

Benny lifted his brow, slowly taking another bite of his cake as Metalbeard continued.

"I had to replace every part of my once strapping, virile, pirate body with this useless hunk of garbage ye see before ye…"

"Wowwww," Benny answered. "There's like… So many things I see wrong with that story, like, what?"

"What?!" Metalbeard growled.

Benny shook his head. "Sorry, dude, I'm just not buying it…"

"Ye shouldn't have asked if ye aren't going to accept me story," Metalbeard pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

Benny shrugged. "Sorry, dude. But that's just as outrageous as me saying I'm actually from 1984."

"It may sound farfetched, but I assure ye, every bit of it be true," Metalbeard affirmed.

"Yeah, okay," Benny shrugged again. "Sorry, that was rude of me."

Metalbeard shook his head. "Forget about it, ye scallywag. What's a pirate if not rude occasionally?"

He smiled. "So, what did you and Batman end up doing with the baby dragon?"

"We sent it away, under the cover of night, to a dragon reserve," he answered. "But now, Unikitty wants us to sweep the school again for any more beasts our mysterious ne'er-do-well may have smuggled in while there be less students in the way."

"Let me know if you find anything," Benny grinned. "I'd really like to know."

"Aye?" Metalbeard asked. He squinted his good eye and leaned forward. "I know that kind of look, lad. Ye be wanting to search on yer own, don't ye?"

Benny nodded. "Yeah, totally. I'm curious."

Metalbeard smiled. "At least ye be honest. Go worm yer way into Batman's heart and we'll sneak ye along with us as we search. And let us know what ye may find on yer own. I know how ye wee ones can get yerselves into trouble in ways grown wizards couldn't conceive."

"Aye-aye, Captain," Benny chimed, scooping up more seaweed cakes and shoving them into his pocket as he stood. "I should go back inside now."

"Aye," Metalbeard nodded. "Just don't ye be getting into too  _ much _ trouble now, understood?"

Benny nodded. "I'll do my best. Thanks for the food and the story." Benny ran back up the stairs and hopped into the rowboat which then lowered down into the water and made its way back to shore. He stepped out of it and pulled it onto the bank again and then glanced around the area. When he confirmed that no one was around, he adjusted his scarf and then pressed a button through his robes. A song began playing through his scarf, quiet enough for no one else to notice, but loud enough for him to hear, playing from the headphones hidden around his neck.

He bounced along to the music as he headed inside in search of Batman.

_ "Karma karma karma karma karma chameleon _ _   
_ _ You come and go _ _   
_ _ You come and go _ _   
_ _ Loving would be easy if your colors were like my dream _ __   
_ Red, gold and green _ _   
_ __ Red, gold and green"

"Hey!"

Benny stopped and paused his music as a Hufflepuff approached him. He furrowed his brow at the curly red hair and the boy's way of holding himself. Something about it seemed familiar.

"You!" the boy said, stopping in front of him. "You're that weird guy on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, right? Blu or something?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that's me. Who are you?"

"Serious Business," the kid answered, grinning proudly as Benny paled. "I see you heard of the Octan Corporation. My dad runs it."

"Y-Your  _ dad _ is…?" he trailed off, taking a step back, but the other kid finished for him.

"Pendragon Business," he nodded. "But don't worry, I'm not going to use my dad's position of power over you. Well, okay, maybe I will."

"D-Dude, no," Benny shook his head and took another step back, but the other boy matched it with a step forward. "Leave me  _ alone, _ dude. I can't talk to you."

"Relax, will you?" he asked, furrowing his monobrow. "I'm going to offer you a large sum of money to tell me your team's secret with the brooms. My dad is  _ very _ interested, but Madam Wyldstyle refused to tell him…"

"You really think I'd know?" Benny snapped at him. "Dude, I… Ugh…"

He frowned. "My name's not 'dude'. It's Business. Serious Business. Well, you can call me Busy, if you want. So you don't know about the brooms?"

_ "No. _ Dude-  _ Busy." _ He cringed and shook his head. "Just leave me alone, will you?"

"What if you give me your broom instead?" Busy asked. "So my dad can study it? I'll let you have a Firebolt Supreme to replace it. Your whole team could have Firebolt Supremes."

"No, dude!" Benny growled, glaring at him. "I'll keep my Nimbus 1700, thank you. I got it from a friend and I'm not giving it up."

Busy blinked but held up his hands in defense. "Okay, calm down. Didn't mean to hit a sore spot. Maybe we got off on the wrong foot…" He held out his hand for Benny to shake. "I'm Busy. None of your friends are going to be here over winter break, right? Would you like to sit with me at meal times until the break is over?"

Benny hesitated, but then shook Busy's hand. "Benny. And, y'know what?" He smiled. "No, I wouldn't."

Busy's smile dropped from his face. "What?"

Benny let go of his hand and ran off, ignoring as Busy called for him to wait. Benny ignored him and turned a sharp corner, only to run into a blob of orange that was then caught by someone in a bat mask.

"Woah there," Emmet grabbed onto Benny as he tried to hurry off again, and Benny started crying. "Ah! No! What happened? Benny, calm down, tell me what happened."

"He probably saw your face," Batman answered. "That would make any kid cry."

"Or he saw that stupid mask you're wearing," Emmet snapped at him in return. He knelt down and put his hands on Benny's shoulders and smiled at him. "Benny, c'mon, buddy. What happened?"

"Pendragon had a son!" Benny cried. "Why are you all so  _ ooooold? _ Why didn't I get to grow up with you?"

Batman frowned. "What does he mean by that?"

"Nothing!" Emmet answered, grinning nervously as he shot straight up again. "B-But, Benny, you didn't hear Serious's name called at the sorting ceremony?"

"The kid with the monobrow?" Batman mumbled.

"I wasn't paying attention!" Benny cried. "I didn't think I'd run into anyone I knew from back then! Then  _ you _ had to show up and you're so  _ ooooold." _

"Would you stop that?" Emmet sighed.

Batman shook his head. "No. Really. What does he mean?"

"Nothing," Emmet insisted again. "Benny, you need to calm down before people overhear…"

"Emmet, you know I'm pretty much the greatest detective ever?" Batman asked. "If you don't tell me, I'll find out on my own in like half an hour."

Emmet sighed. "Fine, but not in public. Benny, come on, let's go to my office."

"Mine," Batman corrected. "It's closer. And I can serve batmilk and cookies."

Benny sniffled. "Do you have strawberry syrup?"

"For the cookies?" Batman asked.

"For the batmilk," Benny answered.

Batman cracked a smile. "I think I like you, kid. Come with me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we've caught up to all I have written for this fic. Thank you for reading!


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